Murshidabad violence ‘pre-planned’, BSF involved, claims Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed that the recent communal violence in Murshidabad district during protests against the Waqf Amendment Act was “pre-planned”, PTI reported.

Speaking at an event in Kolkata, the Trinamool Congress chief also accused a section of the Border Security Force along with central agencies and the Bharatiya Janata Party, of fanning tensions by allegedly facilitating cross-border influx from Bangladesh.

The Border Security Force reports to the Union home ministry.

The Union government permitted entry of undocumented immigrants from across the border despite the political crisis in neighbouring Bangladesh, Banerjee claimed. She further claimed that the Border Security Force and other agencies played a role in triggering the unrest in West Bengal.

“I came across news claiming the role of elements from across the border in Murshidabad unrest,” PTI quoted Banerjee as saying. “Is it not the role of the BSF to guard the border? The state government does not guard the international border.”

The Union government must take responsibility, she added.

The BSF and the Union home ministry have not commented on Banerjee’s allegations so far.

Banerjee’s statement came days after three persons were killed in Murshidabad amid violent protests over the past week against the Waqf Amendment Act.

A waqf is a property dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause under Islamic law. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity that is vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property.

The recent changes to the law curb the authority of waqf boards and allow greater government control over them.

The 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill brought changes to 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act, including allowing non-Muslims on waqf boards, restricting property donations and changing how waqf tribunals function.

The bill was cleared by Parliament on April 4. It received presidential assent on April 5 and took effect on April 8.

On the same day that the Act came into effect, a mob clashed with the police, threw stones and set the vehicles of security forces on fire in Murshidabad’s Jangipur during protests against it. Several police personnel were reportedly injured in the clashes.

On Friday afternoon, protesters blocked National Highway 12 at Shajurmore crossing near Dhulian.

Nearly 5,000 protesters had also blocked railway tracks, resulting in two passenger trains getting cancelled and four express trains being diverted, stated the Eastern Railway.

The Calcutta High Court on Saturday ordered Central Armed Police Forces to be deployed in Murshidabad district.

On Wednesday, Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to implement the “atrocious” amendments, PTI reported.

“I would request the prime minister to keep a check on Amit Shah [Union home minister],” the news agency quoted the chief minister as having added. “He [Shah] is doing harm to the nation to serve his own political agenda.”

A compensation of Rs 10 lakh each would be given to the families of the three persons killed in the violence, the Trinamool Congress chief said.

Banerjee ordered the state’s chief secretary to initiate an investigation into the role of the Border Security Force. She claimed that BSF personnel had opened fire against protesters, which led to the death of one of them.

“I will find out whom the BSF had financed in the bordering areas by giving money to youths to pelt stones during the violence,” PTI quoted her as saying.

She also claimed that outsiders linked to the BJP had entered the state and incited violence.

“Why did they allow BJP thugs from outside to come and create chaos before fleeing?” she asked, adding that accountability must be fixed.

On Tuesday, the West Bengal Police arrested two men accused of the murder of a father and son in Murshidabad during the protests. Harogobindo Das, 72, and his 40-year-old son Chandan Das were killed allegedly by a mob on Saturday in the district’s Shamsherganj area.

Supratim Sarkar, the additional director general of police (South Bengal), told reporters that Asmaul Nadab alias Kalu Nadab and Dildar Nadab, who are brothers, have been arrested.

The third person who died in the violence was Izaz Ahmed Sheikh, a 17-year-old who sustained bullet injuries in police firing on Friday in Suti. Sheikh succumbed to his injuries a day later.

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