Days after communal violence over Waqf law in Murshidabad, Bengal govt transfers 2 superintendents of police

Kolkata: Days after communal violence broke out in parts of Murshidabad district, the West Bengal government on Friday transferred two superintendents of police from the region.

A senior government official refused to link the transfers with the incidents of violence following the enactment of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, and termed the reshuffle "routine".

In a notification, the state government said that Surya Pratap Yadav, SP of Murshidabad, was being shifted and Kumar Sunny Raj would replace him.

Similarly, Jangipur police district SP Ananda Roy has been replaced by Shaw Kumar Amit, while Senior Superintendent of Intelligence Branch Aashis Maurya has been shifted from his post and given charge as Ranaghat SP.

Yadav is taking over as the Commanding Officer, Narayani Battalion, in Coochbehar while Roy has been made Commanding Officer, EFR, 3rd Battalion in Salua.

Amit was posted as DC, Traffic Police (South) Kolkata before the reshuffle.

Angshuman Saha, IPS, has been shifted from his post as Commanding Officer, Narayani Battalion, Coochbehar to the post as Commanding Officer, SSF, Barrackpore.

Earlier, the officers-in-charge of Suti and Shamsherganj police stations in Murshidabad district had been transferred.

The reshuffle comes in the backdrop of communal violence in Jangipur, Suti, Shamsherganj and Dhulian areas of Murshidabad district, in which three persons were killed and thousands displaced following incidents of loot, arson, vandalism and attack on April 11 and 12.

The opposition parties had questioned the role of district police in preempting the violence and termed it an 'intelligence failure." A Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state police is investigating the communal violence in parts of Murshidabad police district and Jangipur police district.