As Murshidabad turned into a flashpoint of unrest following violent protests against the Waqf Act, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has decided to send a team to investigate alleged human rights violations in the district, according to sources.
Several people were displaced following attacks and NHRC team will visit several areas to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury visited injured victims at a local hospital in the wake of the clashes in Dhulian and Samserganj. Speaking to the media after his visit, he alleged that the situation was far graver than what is being portrayed by the administration. “The government is not revealing the actual number of injured. I met three gunshot victims from Samserganj, one of whom is a young boy aged around 11 or 12. His right kidney has been badly damaged. He cannot sit, stand, or lie down and is in a pathetic condition,” said Chowdhury.
Advertisement
He added that one boy was hit by a bullet when he went out to buy medicine for his mother, according to his account. “The doctors say the bullet is still lodged in one of the victims, while in another, it has been removed,” he said. Lashing out at chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Chowdhury said: “Murshidabad is being projected as Afghanistan. Why is the CM not visiting the spot? Her teams can go to Hathras and Manipur, but why not Jangipur? What is stopping her — lack of vehicle fare, or is it just not a priority?”
In a more alarming development, preliminary findings by the Union home ministry suggested the involvement of Bangladeshi miscreants in fuelling the violence, as per sources. The report criticises the West Bengal Police for failing to control the situation effectively. However, no official statement has been issued by the Centre so far. The unrest, which began as protests demanding the withdrawal of the Waqf Act, escalated into violent clashes between police and demonstrators. At least three people have reportedly died in the violence, which turned several areas of Murshidabad into conflict zones. The situation compelled authorities to deploy Border Security Force (BSF) personnel from Friday night, followed by paramilitary forces on Saturday night, in compliance with a Calcutta High Court order. The continued tension has forced many families—particularly women—from affected villages to flee their homes. A large number of them have taken refuge in schools across the neighbouring Malda district, especially in the Vaishnavnagar area.