Kolkata: Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday alleged that over 400 people from trouble-torn Dhulian in Murshidabad district have fled for safety following the violence and arson over the Waqf Amendment Act, in which so far three people have been killed and as many sustained bullet injuries.
The BJP leader said the people have fled and taken shelter at Par Lalpur High School, Deonapur-Sovapur gram panchayat, and Baisnabnagar, in the neighbouring Malda district.
Meanwhile, following a directive from the Calcutta High Court on Saturday, Central Armed Forces were deployed in all sensitive areas where riot and arson happened.
Trouble was brewing in the area since Tuesday, after both houses of Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The protests over the Waqf Act turned violent on Friday.
The protestors resorted to looting, burning government vehicles, damaging railway property, and houses in Dhulian, Samserganj, and Suti in Murshidabad.
In Samserganj, a 71-year-old man and his 40-year-old son were lynched and their mutilated bodies were found on Saturday.
The state combat police have also conducted a route march in all identified areas from where arson has been reported.
The state DGP Rajeev Kumar, who reached Samserganj, has been camping there since Saturday evening.
Adhikari claimed that fearing for their lives the people were forced to flee across the river and had taken shelter at Par Lalpur High School, Deonapur-Sovapur GP, Baisnabnagar, in Malda.
"Religious persecution in Bengal is real following the appeasement politics of TMC, which has emboldened radical elements," he posted on his X handle today.
He said that people were running for their lives from their land and held the state government responsible for the breakdown of law and order.
More than 400 Hindus from Dhulian, Murshidabad driven by fear of religiously driven bigots were forced to flee across the river & take shelter at Par Lalpur High School, Deonapur-Sovapur GP, Baisnabnagar, Malda.
"I urge the Central Paramilitary Forces deployed in the District, the State Police, and the district administration to ensure the safe return of these displaced people and to protect their lives from this jihadist terror. Bengal is burning. The social fabric is torn. Enough is enough," he concluded.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Calcutta High Court for approving the deployment of central forces in the violence-hit regions of Murshidabad.
"Over the past few days, Murshidabad has witnessed severe communal unrest, provoked by high-level incitement from a particular political party and emboldened by fundamentalist elements. Innocent people have been brutally attacked, their homes and properties destroyed, and heartbreaking reports of loss of life have emerged," Majumdar said on his X handle.
He alleged that the state administration has utterly failed to uphold law and order. "Even worse, it shamelessly tried to block the deployment of central forces," Majumdar, who is also the BJP's state President, said. He demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
"This is blatant policy of appeasement and administrative failure. We believe that with central forces on the ground, peace and normalcy can be swiftly restored in the affected areas. Justice must prevail," he concluded.
The Calcutta High Court Division bench headed by Soumen Sen, while ordering the deployment of the CAPF in the trouble-hit Murshidabad, said the judiciary cannot keep its eyes closed when the common people suffer in violence.
The court opined that the citizens must be provided with adequate security and protection to ensure peace and order in the region.
A special bench comprising Justices Soumen Sen and Raja Basu Chowdhury ordered the deployment of the central forces. The next hearing is slated for Thursday.
