A day after the Cockroach Janta Party alleged the death of the father of one of its volunteers from West Bengal after assault, its chief spokesperson Saurav Das claimed that “BJP goons” were responsible for the incident.
The father of 25-year-old CJP volunteer Shaik Abdul Hafeez was allegedly assaulted on Thursday after his son raised concerns about a primary school at Karisunda in the Indus community development block. The volunteer had conducted an audit as part of the CJP’s nationwide ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign that aimed at improving government schools.
Speaking about the incident, Das said that the volunteer's father was beaten “brutally”, while saying it was “absolutely condemnable.”
Deep Dive
What led to the alleged assault on the CJP volunteer's father in West Bengal?
Why does the CJP claim that the attackers were 'anti-school'?
What actions is the CJP demanding following the incident?
“We launched a campaign called 'Fix the Schools'... Abdul, a 26-year-old CJP member who had participated in our protests at Jantar Mantar, visited his local government school in Bengal on the 13th and informed the teachers that he would return the next day to conduct an audit,” Das told reporters, according to a video posted by ANI news agency.
{{/usCountry}}“We launched a campaign called 'Fix the Schools'... Abdul, a 26-year-old CJP member who had participated in our protests at Jantar Mantar, visited his local government school in Bengal on the 13th and informed the teachers that he would return the next day to conduct an audit,” Das told reporters, according to a video posted by ANI news agency.
{{/usCountry}}“That very night, BJP goons arrived at Abdul's home and beat him brutally. When his father tried to save him, they beat him as well, so severely that he lost his life,” Das added. He said the volunteer's father was rushed to a hospital but his condition deteriorated, following which he passed away in the evening.
‘They’re anti-school…anti-intellectual’
Das claimed that the incident had taken place because the aggressors were “anti-school and anti-intellectual”, while referring to the alleged assault as “hooliganism.”
“This is absolutely condemnable... It is happening because they are anti-school and anti-intellectual... but people do not believe in such hooliganism...” ANI cited the CJP spokesperson as saying.
Das said that strict action would be taken against those responsible “when the time comes”, adding that “such tactics won't work in the post-Jantar Mantar India.” The CJP co-convenor was referring to the student protests at Jantar Mantar over the alleged NEET irregularities. He said a delegation led by CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka would meet the family of the victim and “urge the strictest possible punishment” for those responsible.
“An awakening is taking place at the grassroots level... From Gen Alpha to Gen X and Gen Z coming together on their own to fix their schools. Instead of helping, they are effectively killing people,” Das said, according to ANI.
CJP demands immediate arrest, CM Adhikari says three held
The CJP said the deceased, Sk Muhammad Mafik, and his son Shaik Abdul Hafeez were allegedly assaulted on Thursday. In a post on X, CJP founder and national convener Abhijeet Dipke demanded the arrest of the accused persons on Sunday afternoon.
“Abdul went to inspect the govt school in Bengal where he once studied. He lost his father after they were attacked by goons (allegedly from BJP) for speaking up about the poor condition of govt schools. It makes my blood boil that people are being murdered simply for demanding better schools,” Dipke said. He asserted that CJP “stands firmly” with the deceased's family, saying the organisation would “only fight harder.”
Meanwhile, West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari reacted within hours and said that police arrested three of the five persons named in the first information report (FIR). He said a hunt was underway for the remaining two accused.
“I am also the home minister. It is our duty to maintain law and order. Three of the five accused persons have been arrested. But the complaint did not refer to these people as BJP workers. The complaint said they were unknown individuals,” the chief minister said at a press conference, adding that five more people had been detained for interrogation.