Victims of Murshidabad violence that broke out on April 11 after a protest against Waqf (Amendment) Act, hold placards, in Murshidabad on April 21, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Observing that women have been the worst sufferers of communal violence in Murshidabad, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) Vijaya Rahatkar, who visited the violence-affected areas of the district on Sunday (April 20, 2025), urged the West Bengal government to restore normalcy, and confidence among the people.
Ms. Rahatkar said the NCW was preparing a report on the violence and would submit it to the authorities in due course of time.
“Wherever we went, we talked to women, and we were shaken by their anger. All their dreams are over. They have lost everything. They were asking only one thing — what is their fault? A woman gave birth to a child a few days ago. She had to leave her home,” the NCW Chairperson said.
Ms. Rahatkar suggested that the West Bengal Commission for Women also visit the areas hit by violence, and listen to the stories of the women affected by it.
Along with the NCW, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, and a team from the National Human Rights Commission visited the violence-affected areas over the weekend. The Governor, who also met the families affected by violence, and said that the situation was far from normal.
Three persons were killed in the violence that erupted in the Dhulian and Samserganj areas on April 11 and 12. The protests, which started over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, soon turned into communal strife.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership termed the NCW’s visit to the violence-affected areas “politically motivated”.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, a delegation of TMC leaders, led by the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam and Jangipur MP Khalilur Rehman, visited the violence-affected areas and met the family of Hargobind Das and Chandan Das, the father and son who were lynched to death in the violence. “The administration will take all the measures to ensure safety and security. We hope that such incidents will not occur in future,” Mr. Islam said.
The Das family has said they will not accept any compensation from the West Bengal government. “They [the Trinamool leaders] did not come. After so many days, they have come today to give us assurance. If Mamata Banerjee comes, then we will flee to Jharkhand so that she does not meet us,” one of the family members said. Ms. Banerjee had announced compensation of ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
The third death was that of 21-year-old Ezaj Ahmed Sheikh, who died by injuries sustained in police action.
The West Bengal police have arrested a fourth person in connection with the killing of Hargobind Das and Chandan Das. Ziaul Sheikh, a resident of Sulitala Purbapara, a village neighbouring Jafrabad, was arrested from Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur district.
One more person was arrested in connection with the violence in the area on Saturday.
Superintendent of Police Jangipur Ananda Roy said 287 people had been arrested for the violence in Murshidabad, and the arrest of two more persons had taken the number to 289. Mr. Roy said there had been no incident of violence in the area since April 12.
Published – April 20, 2025 09:50 pm IST