A team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) visited the violence-affected Murshidabad in West Bengal on Saturday morning. NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar led the delegation and met with the people affected by the violence, assuring them of necessary action by the central government to ensure their safety.
After meeting the victims, NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said: “The suffering these people are going through is inhuman. We will put their demands before the government.”
The affected people, who are reportedly all Hindus, were displaced from their residences following the violence during protests against the Waqf Act. The women affected by the Murshidabad riots narrated their plight to the NCW and demanded permanent BSF camps in some areas of the district.
They also demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the communal clashes. The NCW chief assured the victims that there was “no cause for worry” as the Centre was beside them, news agency PTI reported.
NCW team reached the Malda district on Friday afternoon to visit the relief camp housing the displaced people from Murshidabad. According to Rahatkar, the commission had received reports on the atrocities on women in Murshidabad, but insisted that the team directly interact with them to get firsthand information.
“We came to know from the media reports that atrocities have been done against women (in violence-hit areas of West Bengal during protests against the Waqf Amendment Act) and the women are scared too. We will go to the spot (in Malda) to see the situation. We have the reports, but we will go there and talk to the women, as atrocities against women are not accepted, and these things should not happen,” IANS quoted Rahatkar as saying.
The NCW has taken suo motu cognisance of the situation in Murshidabad district and formed a team to investigate the violence, which erupted amid protests over Waqf (Amendment) Act.
In a statement issued on Wednesday (April 16), the commission stated that there were reports of women being harassed amid the communal clashes in the district.
“The NCW Chairperson has taken suo motu cognizance of a deeply disturbing report from Murshidabad, West Bengal, where several women were reportedly molested amid communal violence, triggering the exodus of hundreds of women. The Chairperson has also constituted an Inquiry Committee to investigate the incident,” the statemet said.
Bengal Guv CV To Visit Riot-Hit Shamsherganj
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose is also set to visit riot-hit areas of Shamsherganj in Murshidabad district on Saturday to review the situation and interact with the affected people.
Bose is then likely to head to the other strife-torn places in Dhulian, Suti and Jangipur in the district.
Ahead of his journey for Shamsherganj, Bose will speak to some members of the affected families at the guest house in Farakka where he has been staying since Friday night, PTI reported citing Raj Bhavan official.
The Governor decided to visit Murshidabad despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s request to refrain from visiting the district till the situation becomes normal.
BYJM To Hold ‘Save Bengali Hindus’ Rally In Kolkata
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, is set to hold a ‘Save Bengali Hindus’ rally in Kolkata on Saturday.
The rally will begin from the ancestral residence of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at 4:00 PM and end at the house of Dr Syama Prasad Mookherjee in Bhawanipur. LoP Suvendu Adhikari will also attend the rally.
The Calcutta High Court granted permission for the rally on Thursday, following a petition by the organisers.
At least three people died in the violence in Bengal over anti-Waqf Act protests that engulfed these Muslim-majority areas from April 8-12. Over 274 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased and also vowed housing support under the Banglar Bari scheme for those who lost their homes.
