A fact-finding team from the CPI(ML) West Bengal unit visited the violence-affected areas in Murshidabad's Samserganj and Suti on April 18 and 19. The CPI(ML) delegation has briefly highlighted the following facts (a detailed report will be published shortly):
On 11 April, at Sazur Mor in Suti, police violently dispersed a peaceful protest march against the new Waqf Act with massivelathi charge and open firing. Ejaz Ahmed, a young protester, was killed in the firing. On the same day, a dispute arose over an incident of brick-pelting targeting a procession with similar demands in Dhulian, the town center under the neighboring Shamsherganj police station.
On 12 April, from morning till late night, a wave of targeted violence was unleashed openly and unchecked by the Samserganj police, whose station sits right on the main road of Dhulian. In the Dhulian Bazaar area, homes and shops belonging to members of the Muslim community were systematically attacked. Sword-brandishing mobs gathered in front of pre-identified houses, set shops ablaze, and looted them. The attackers made no attempt to conceal their faces or identities.
That same day, just three kilometres away, masked forces stormed Hindu households in the Betbona–Jafarabad villages near the town, wreaking havoc in one locality after another. The attacks continued for few hours, while police or BSF did not respond even after several calls by the villagers. In Sarkarpara, Harogobindo Das and his son Chandan Das were killed brutally.
Around 11 am on 12 April, in Tarbagan (Dhulian), a group—either BSF personnel or, as described by locals, a group dressed in BSF uniforms—opened fire on local protestors. 12 people were reportedly injured by bullets and became hospitalized, among them 12-year-old Hasan Sheikh remains in a critical condition. The Officer-in-Charge (OC), SI Shiv Prasad Ghosh, who let this well-orchestrated communal attack take place, was later removed from his post. However, this is grossly insufficient and he must be brought under thorough investigation due to his criminal negligence and face strict legal action.
In Suti, between the night of 11 April and the early hours of 12 April, police personnel stormed homes in the villages of Kashemnagar and Kumarpur, assaulted young men with brutal force, and arbitrarily detained many, charging them under draconian and fabricated cases. The officer responsible for these night-time raids must also be immediately suspended and subjected to investigation, in addition to the transfer of the officer-in-charge.
The incidents in Dhulian Bazaar and Jafarabad were part of a pre-meditated communal operation. RSS cadres from Ghoshpara openly led the violence, making no attempt to hide their identities. The BJP’s state leadership, supported by a complicit propaganda machinery, brazenly incited communal hatred. Shockingly, the Governor of West Bengal himself leapt to their defence, exploiting the pain and anger of the victims to stoke further division.The infiltration of RSS conspirators into the police force is a growing threat. The state government has completely failed to curb this dangerous alliance, making it complicit in the spread of hate and terror.
The CPI(ML) Liberation delegation was led by Central Committee member Jayatu Deshmukh, and included Chandrasmita Chaudhuri, Ranajoy Sengupta, Madhurima Baxi, Barsha Baral, Manbhola Chaudhuri, Moloy Tewari, Rajib Roy, Ritam Maji, and Priya Ram.
