TMC, Cong & CPM netas hit ground zero, meet residents
Times of India | 16 April 2025
12 Shamsherganj/Kolkata: Trinamool, Congress and CPM netas reached out to those affected in strife-torn Jangipur on Poila Baisakh.
The senior BJP brass stayed away from the conflict zone to launch its attacks over the situation in Murshidabad.
TMC's Jangipur MP Khalilur Rehman and local functionaries held a meeting with residents at Jatrabad Primary School, a few kilometres away from where the brutal murders took place on April 12. Rehman tried to assuage the anger of locals and said: "Miscreants have no religion. Bengal govt has given unequivocal orders that the guilty will be punished. This action was done by outsiders and we should remain vigilant from stepping into this trap."
Other senior TMC netas, including local MLAs, individually spoke to residents to allay their apprehensions. Shamsherganj MLA Amirul Islam urged locals to return to work.
While CPM state secretary Md Salim and Pradesh Congress president Subhankar Sarkar visited the strife-torn areas on Monday, Congress neta Adhir Chowdhury visited Shamsherganj on Tuesday.
Salim, who met the kin of murdered Haragobindo Das and his son Chandan, alleged that police did not respond to repeated complaints for nearly four hours. CPM has demanded a probe by a sitting Calcutta High Court judge.
"When the violent attacks were being mobilised and shops were being looted, police remained unresponsive. Even govt vehicles and homes of govt officials were ransacked," he said. Salim claimed organised gangs were used to create the violence in Murshidabad and police inaction allowed them a free run.
"If police wanted to stop the violence, it would never have happened. The inaction of police should be investigated," Chowdhury said after meeting an injured Badshah Sk in Shamsherganj. "There was a section of people who took advantage and pushed the situation towards a communal strife," Chowdhury said.
Speaking to ANI, state leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari called for sustained deployment of central forces like CRPF and BSF. He claimed the West Bengal Police had turned into a "cadre" under TMC's watch and vowed not to remain silent if the Hindu community was targeted.
Junior Union minister and Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar posted on X that he had written to governor CV Ananda Bose and raised concerns over the atrocities on Hindus.