As police start probe in Bengal’s Murshidabad, some see a pattern in violence
While the police were busy using all its resources to stop destruction of public property and keep NH-12 operational, villages like Jafrabad were attacked, a police officer said
KOLKATA: As 17 companies of central police force, deployed in Murshidabad’s Jangipur sub-division on the Calcutta high court’s April 12 order work with the state police to restore peace, police officers scrutinising the incidents said there was a pattern in the violence that rocked Suti, Raghunathganj, Dhuliyan and Shamserganj towns and adjacent rural areas for five days.
“It all started on April 7 with a rally at Suti against the new Waqf Amendment Act. On April 8, mobs suddenly attacked the police and set police vehicles on fire at Raghunathganj. NH-12, a vital road that connects north and south Bengal, was blocked for hours,” a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity.
As the administration suspended internet services and prohibited assembly of five or more persons under Section 163 of BNS (Section 144 of IPC), the same form of violence was witnessed in other areas.
“While the police were busy using all its resources to stop destruction of public property and keep NH-12 operational, villages like Jafrabad were attacked. Homes were ransacked and looted in several pockets of Samserganj. Dhuliyan was one of these. The criminals knew that police wouldn’t be able to rush to all the spots at short notice,” the officer said.
That may also explain why the police took time to respond to desperate calls for help from Jafrabad village, a mere 2.3km south of the Samserganj police station. According to Google maps, a car can cover this distance along the Bidhan Chandra Road in eight minutes.
Parul Das, 64, who watched her 72-year-old husband Haragobindo Das and 40-year-old son Chandan killed in the mob attack on April 11 night, said it took the police four hours to reach them.
“We kept calling the police when a mob smashed through our doors, looted everything and dragged my husband and son out of the house. The rioters hacked them repeatedly with sharp weapons. Police arrived after four hours,” she told reporters on Saturday.
Additional director general of police (law and order) Jawed Shamim on Monday acknowledged the size of the mobs and scale of the violence this time posed a problem for the administration.
“The scale of mobilisation was certainly very high. We had to mobilise resources for Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti as well. So, on Friday and Saturday, we had difficulty,” said Shamim, adding that none of the culprits would be spared.
The police officer cited above said Murshidabad, with a 66% Muslim population, and the adjoining Malda district, with 51% Muslim population, witnessed violent agitations against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens as well. But this time there was a pattern that was different from the previous protests.
A second police officer said they noticed the involvement of a large number of minor boys, aged between 10 and 17, when roads were blocked and vehicles set on fire.
“Of the three people who suffered bullet injuries during police firing on April 11, the one who died was a minor. These boys were definitely persuaded by adults who tried to use them as shields. The troublemakers knew that police would hesitate to use extreme force against children. Keeping the police busy, the adults started looting homes,” said the officer.
Khalilur Rahaman, the Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member from Jangipur, also questioned the presence of minors in the protests. “What do minors know about Waqf? They have no knowledge or intelligence. If you can get a few involved in the frenzy, a hundred more will follow,” said Rahaman, who is also a member of the West Bengal Waqf Board.
Officials wondered whether the violence in Murshidabad was linked to the presence of over 4,000 Waqf properties, many of them illegally occupied for decades.
“It is possible that some of those who have illegally occupied Waqf property instigated the rioters. They would lose these properties if the law is enforced. The violence would compel the state government to be cautious,” a state intelligence branch official said.
Rahaman said the troublemakers ransacked the close circuit security cameras outside his home and office. “On April 8, they stopped my car and misbehaved with me. But I can’t say if they did all this because I am a member of the Waqf board,” he said.
