Even as West Bengal authorities claimed return of normalcy to Murshidabad district that was hit by violence due to anti-Waqf Act sentiments, hundreds of families that bore the brunt of looting and arson continued to flee Shamsherganj and Sutti blocks.
BJP leader and former MP Arjun Singh posted pictures of what he said were Hindu families fleeing their houses on boats amid threats of revenge by drawing 'fighters' from Jharkhand and Bihar to teach the miscreants a lesson.
The ruling Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, saw a “deep conspiracy behind the violence provoked and orchestrated to further dirty political agenda” of the BJP in an election year.
“Is it India or Bangladesh… what is Mamata Banerjee Government doing about the plight of Hindus?… the way the Hindus are being systematically attacked and the way they have to flee their houses, there is no way left but to push in fighters from Jharkhand and Bihar,” Singh said, warning that “if this does not stop, they (miscreants) will only have to rue their conduct for life”.
Singh shared videos of people fleeing in large boats to neighouring Malda district even while sources said many violence victims had been hosted in a school in Baishnav Nagar block. Others were ferried on motorbikes to neighbouring Jharkhand.
Pradiptya Paul, a grocer and a wholesaler from Ranipur village in Shamsherganj, recounted Saturday night's horror: “There was news of attacks from every side… then crowds came and torched my shop and all adjoining houses… I lost about Rs 20 lakh in property and cash… have nothing to feed my family now… today morning, we were forced to ferry our women and children to Jharkhand… only men remain there and, maybe, we will have to live in paddy fields during the night.”
A Railway staff requesting anonymity since 'I have to do my duty here' claimed that “more than two hundred houses were set on fire by the crowd”. Elsewhere, at Baishnav Nagar in Malda where hundreds of women and children had taken shelter, the victims said, “We sailed down the Bhagirathi River to Malda… have nothing left in our houses.”
Others recounted how they were “rescued by BSF men… “Local police just did not listen to us… they were not taking our calls and those who responded asked us to register FIRs at local police stations… none came to our rescue.”
Opposition BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari alleged that “Jihadis are playing tandav in Murshidabad while police is looked the other way… CM Mamata Banerjee has failed to save lives and properties of Hindus… she has no right to continue in power… not for a moment after this… are we living in India or Bangladesh?”
He alleged that she was silent even when Hindus were persecuted in Bangladesh whereas “here her own voters are culprits”.
Adhikari said that more than 400 terrified families fled due to fear of “religiously-driven bigots” and crossed the Bhagirathi and took shelter at Par Lal Pur High School, Deonapur- Sovapur Gram Panchayat, Baishnav Nagar, Malda.
His Party colleague and BJP MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato demanded the imposition of Armed Forces Special Power Act in Murshidabad. In a letter to the Home Ministry, he wrote, “Bengal Burning. Hindus Bleeding. Murshidabad, Malda, Nadia, South 24 Parganas - Hindus attacked, homes looted, lives lost. Trinamool Congress' appeasement has failed law and order. Like Kashmiri Pandits once, Bengali Hindus are being hunted. I urge @AmitShah ji to impose AFSPA under Sec 3 of the 1958 Act.”
Curiously, Trinamool Congress MLA from Bharatpur, Humayun Kabir, usually known for his blunt remarks, blamed his own partymen and police for failing to save the Hindus. “It is a shame on the district administration and people’s representatives if people have to leave Murshidabad,” he said. “All MLAs and the MP belong to Shamsherganj and Shuti area… it is not possible for miscreants to enter the area without their knowledge and if they have done so, my question is - what were they doing? What was police doing? It’s a total failure of the administration… I may be a TMC MLA but I must tell the truth,” MLA Kabir said. Incidentally, Kabir had last year courted controversy by saying he had the power to throw 30 per cent of Murshidabad’s population (Hindus) in the Bhagirathi.
TMC’s Kunal Ghosh however saw a “deep conspiracy” in the situation that had unfolded. “Our Chief Minister has repeatedly told that the Waqf Act has been brought in by the Centre and the protest registered against them… besides, the TMC too has been protesting against this Act and the Chief Minister has assured that it will not be implemented in Bengal… still some people have taken to violence as way of protests… this is a part of a conspiracy… it has been planned by a particular party… with the help of central agencies and BSF they have got some mischief-mongers to sneak in and provoke violence… I say this because the local people are unable to identify the miscreants and the masterminds… having failed to defeat us politically, this twisted way is being employed to malign Bengal.”
Meanwhile, one more person was hit by a bullet on Sunday in the Shamsherganj-Dhulian area and rushed to Behrampore, sources said even as State DGP Rajiv Kumar claimed that the situation had returned to normal.
“There is no new report of violence and the situation is already under control,” he said adding that 17 companies of central forces had been deployed in the area.
