Amid the unrest in Murshidabad over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has initiated official communication with the Union ministry of home affairs regarding the current situation in Murshidabad, Raj Bhawan sources said.
Sources said that in the report, the Governor has also appraised the Centre about the communication that he has had with chief minister Mamata Banerjee in this regard. A detailed report regarding the law and order situation in Murshidabad by the Governor’s core team, including information passed on by the state administration, has been prepared and sent to the ministry. At least three people were killed, several others injured and a number of shops torched after protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent in the Suti and Samserganj blocks of Murshidabad district.
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A large number of people have fled these areas since the violence began on Friday, 11 April. The Governor had sought a detailed report from the state administration on how it is tackling the situation, directing them to take “bold action”. “The situation where vested interests foment trouble cannot be tolerated and should be curbed,” a Raj Bhavan statement read. The Governor in a video statement had said: “Let me tell the miscreants, (we are going to) take a no-nonsense approach against the violence and the criminals, and none will be allowed to take the law into their hands.” He also said in Bengali: “Sangharsh, himsa hobe na cholbe na (there should not be any clash or violence).”
Furthermore, the Governor has directed the Indian Red Cross Society to take to the streets to provide aid in the troubled areas. This was announced from the Governor’s official X handle on Monday. Meanwhile, in the chilling double murder case in Samserganj, Murshidabad, police have arrested two individuals allegedly directly involved in the brutal killing of a father and son. The victims, identified as Hargobind Das and his son Chandan Das, were found dead inside their home, their bodies bearing multiple injuries inflicted by sharp weapons. The murders took place last Friday amid unrest in Murshidabad over protests against the Waqf Amendment Act. According to local sources, a gang of miscreants stormed the victims’ residence with an intent to loot. When the father and son tried to resist, they were reportedly hacked to death. Addressing the media on Tuesday, ADG (south Bengal) Supratim Sarkar said, “We formed a special investigation team to probe the matter. In the past two days, extensive CCTV footage from the area was collected and analysed. Several miscreants were identified based on the footage. On Monday, we managed to arrest two suspects — Kalu and Dilabar Nadab, who are brothers and were directly involved in the murder.” One of the accused was arrested in Birbhum and the other from Murshidabad. Sarkar also confirmed that a manhunt is on to nab the remaining accused involved in the incident.
The victims’ family has alleged that repeated calls to the police during the attack went unanswered. The bodies were later taken to Farakka Hospital, where multiple injury marks were found on both victims. In a related development, police sources revealed that over 1,09,300 social media accounts have been shut down for allegedly posting provocative content in connection with the ongoing protests.
