Two brothers arrested for murdering father-son duo during Murshidabad riots
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA, April 15: Bangladeshi radicals, allegedly aided by local leaders of a political party, were “involved” in the recent violence triggered by anti-Waqf law agitations in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, sources said.
Quoting an intelligence report, sources said members of two Bangladesh-based radical outfits — Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) — were allegedly involved in the violence in Murshidabad, which left three persons dead.
The violence was carried out by Bangladeshi miscreants, allegedly aided by local leaders of a political party, sources said quoting the report.
The Union home ministry is closely following the situation in Murshidabad, where central forces have been deployed along with the state police to restore peace and maintain law and order, sources said.
The BSF, which is deployed along the India-Bangladesh border, has also been instructed to keep a strict vigil so that illegal infiltration does not take place in the West Bengal sector, the sources said.
On April 12, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan held a virtual meeting with the chief secretary and DGP of West Bengal after large-scale violence led to loss of lives in Murshidabad district.
During their talks, the Centre asked the state government to keep a close watch on the other sensitive districts and put in place adequate steps to ensure normalcy at the earliest.
Violent protests erupted on Friday and Saturday in pockets of the district, including Suti, Dhulian and Jangipur, following anger over the amended Waqf Act.
The demonstrations soon escalated into clashes, leaving at least three people dead and several injured.
Personnel of the BSF, CRPF, state police and RAF have been deployed in large numbers in Jangipur, Dhuliyan, Suti and Shamsherganj, where no new incident of violence was reported in the past 48 hours, officials said.
The state police said the situation in the riot-hit parts of Murshidabad is gradually returning to normal, with shops reopening and displaced families starting to return to their homes.
TWO ARRESTED
The West Bengal Police on Tuesday arrested two brothers for their alleged involvement in the brutal murder of a father-son duo during communal violence in Murshidabad district, a senior officer said.
With the fresh arrests, a total of 221 people have been apprehended so far in connection with the recent violence in the Muslim-majority district.
The two accused, identified as Kalu Nadar and Dildar Nadar, were residents of the same Jafrabad area where the father-son duo used to live, he said, adding that a special investigation team has been formed to probe into the murders.
Kalu Nadar was arrested from Murarai in Birbhum district, while his brother Dildar was nabbed from near the India-Bangladesh border in Suti in Murshidabad district, the IPS officer said.
“We have collected the CCTV footage from the area and identified several people involved in the incident. Among them, we have arrested two persons,” he said.
So far, a total of 221 people have been arrested in connection with communal violence in the district, he said.The bodies of the father-son duo, identified as Harogobindo Das and Chandan Das, were found in their house in Jafrabad locality in violence-hit Samserganj with multiple stab wounds.
Apart from these two deaths, 21-year-old Ijaz Momin, who sustained bullet wounds during clashes at Sajur More in Suti on Friday, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital the next day.
Around 18 police personnel were injured in the clashes that broke out in several areas of Murshidabad.
Following the clashes, prohibitory orders were imposed and internet services were suspended, while police promised strictest action against those behind the riots.
VICTIMS STARE AT UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Standing before their burnt homes at Bedbuna village under riot-hit Jangipur area of Murshidabad district, people shiver to recall the horror which unfolded before them on April 11 afternoon when a mob of outsiders went on a rampage during an anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act protest in a nearby area.
The victims claimed that all 120 houses of the village were torched, and their valuables like cash, jewellery and cattle were looted by the attackers.The district administration said efforts are on to rebuild their houses.
“Carrying arms and stones, they started pouring petrol on our thatched house as we fled through the back door,” said Rahul Mondal, fear writ large on his face.“They took away the cattle tied in the cowshed and looted the belongings and set our houses on fire. We alerted the neighbours and fled,” he said.As the residents of over 100 thatched houses, including women and children, ran away from their dwellings, they saw smoke billowing out of the cluster of huts in the hamlet from a distance. (PTI)