Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and BJP Bengal President Suvendu Adhikari. File.
| Photo Credit: ANI
West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday (May 5, 2025) said he has offered “safe house” to the family members of Murshidabad lynching victims at his residence in Kolkata. This comes after the family, which had come to Kolkata to file a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking CBI probe into the murders, alleged that police broke the doors of the guest house they were staying in and barged in on Sunday.
Hargobind Das and Chandan Das (father and son) were lynched to death by a mob in Jafrabad in Murshidabad district on April 12. The family has refused to accept compensation from the West Bengal government.
Mr. Adhikari said, “They took Hargobind Das’ younger son and took his statement and forced him to file an FIR today morning. I am the LoP, I have been forced to give them a shelter at my rental residence on humanitarian grounds. As an LoP, I have accountability and this is a part of my responsibility.”
He also claimed that soon the younger son, Samartho Das, will come out in public and give a testimony on “how the police made him sit at the police station and forced him to write false statements. He will also file an FIR by email”. The LoP advised the younger son to file a case at Calcutta High Court as his mother and sister-in-law did on the “police excesses”.
‘Police threatened, hurled abuses’
Mr. Das’s family members on Sunday alleged that personnel of the Bidhannagar City Police forcibly broke open the doors of the premises in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area where they were staying and entered inside.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Parul Das, wife of Hargobind Das, and Pinki Das, wife of Chandan Das,sought protection and deployment of appropriate central forces for their safety.
The family came to Kolkata to file a petition before the Calcutta High Court demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the murders, which was accepted by the court on Monday. The hearing is likely on Tuesday (May 6) by a bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh.
“There were at least 40 uniformed police personnel besides several police personnel in plain clothes. They started shouting, threatening and hurling abuses. Despite us saying that we will not open the door, in a fit of rage, they broke open the doors, damaged the property and barged inside the house where we were camping,” the letter signed by Ms. Parul Das and Ms. Pinki Das read.
There was commotion after the police entered as the counsel of the family members Suryaneel Das reached the spot and started asking questions about the police “excesses”.
The police personnel of the Bidhannagar City Police cited that there was a complaint of kidnapping purportedly filed by Mr. Samartho Das, and added that it was as per law that they broke into the premises.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the riot site on Monday, her first visit after the communal flare-up.
Published – May 05, 2025 09:00 pm IST