Bengal Guv, NCW Team Meet Riot-Affected People In Bengal's Murshidabad

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Saturday met family members of a man and his son, who were killed during violence over anti-Waqf Act protests in Murshidabad district, and assured them of all possible support, a senior official said. The bodies of the two, identified as Harogobindo Das and Chandan Das, were found in their house in Jafrabad locality in Shamsherganj with multiple stab wounds.

“The governor visited their house, spoke to the family members and assured them of support. They have demanded a CBI probe into the murder,” a Raj Bhavan official said. Bose will also visit other strife-torn places in Dhulian, Suti and Jangipur in the district, he said. Before starting his journey to Shamsherganj, Bose spoke to members of some affected families at a guest house in Farakka, the official said.

On Friday, despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's request to postpone his visit, Bose visited Malda and met people who have taken shelter in a temporary refugee camp after fleeing the violence-hit areas of Murshidabad district. He assured them that "proactive action" would be taken to address their grievances.

"I met the family members who are at the camp here. They have briefed me in detail. There will certainly be proactive action taken," the governor had said. A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairman Vijaya Rahatkar, also met the riot-affected people and assured them that all steps would be taken by the Centre to ensure their safety in future.

The affected women narrated their plight during the violent days and demanded that permanent BSF camps be set up in select areas of the district and an NIA probe into the communal clashes, which claimed three lives. The NCW chief told the victims that there was "no cause for worry" as the Centre was beside them.

"We have come here to see your plight. Please don't worry. The country and the commission are beside you all. Don't feel that you are alone," Rahatkar told the victims in the town of Murshidabad.

She said NCW would submit its report to the Centre. The NCW team had also visited a relief camp in Malda district on Friday and met those displaced by the Murshidabad riots. The commission had assessed the condition of women affected by the recent communal violence in parts of the state.

The NCW had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the violence that broke out in Shamsherganj, Suti, Dhulian, and Jangipur areas of Murshidabad on April 11 and 12. At least three people, including the father and son, died, and over 274 have been arrested in connection with violence over the anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act protests that engulfed these Muslim-majority areas from April 8-12.