‘Police inactive and absent’: What are the major conclusions of HC-employed panel on Murshidabad violence
New Delhi: A report to investigate anti -Waqf protests in Murshidabad established by the Calcutta High Court by the three -member committee, which has become violent, has pointed to serious flaws by local authorities in West Bengal. The report stated that the “main attack” took place on 11 April and “the local police was completely passive and absent”.It further alleged that a local councilor played an important role in orchestrating attacks in Dhulian city.On 17 April, the High Court directed the formation of a committee to identify and rehabilitate people displaced by violence. During the protests on the Waqf Act, a father and son – Harogobindo Das and Chandan Das – were brutally murdered at their home in Jafarabad area of Shamsherganj with several stabbing wounds.Panel -SaBSing Joginder Singh (Registrar, Law, NHRC), Satya Arnab Ghosal (Member Secretary, WBLSA), and Saugta Chakravarti (Registrar, WBJS) submitted their reports to the Calcutta High Court last week. The major conclusions of the committee:
- The “main attack” took place on the afternoon of 11 April, the report states.
- A local councilor directed the attacks at Dhulian Town in Murshidabad, said this.
- “The local police was completely passive and absent,” said.
- The report states that in the affected areas, victims require rehabilitation package, and attractive assessment experts to ensure proper support and compensation.
Meanwhile, a pre -reported report presented in the Division Bench by the Government of West Bengal underlined the widespread mob violence in Murshidabad between April 8 and 12, which was associated with protests against the Waqf Act.The report said that the protests on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 started on April 4 in all the police station areas of the Jangipur police district. It states that the situation in Sati, Dhulian, Samsarganj and Jangipur was eventually brought under control through police and civil administration intervention.It states that the protests increased in the violence starting from 8 April. On 12 April, a mob killed Hargobinda Das and his son Chandan Das in Zafarabad under Samsamganj police station. As the situation worsened, central forces were deployed in Samserganj on 11 April, followed by additional CAPF deployment on 12 April, ordered by the High Court.The riots provoked a political line with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that “Hindu families” were targeted. Trinumool Congress chief and Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee alleged that the violence was “orchestrated and well employed”.
