Kolkata, May 15 A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday observed that the communal violence over protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Murshidabad district of West Bengal flared up last month and the situation went totally out of control because of inadequate deployment of police forces at the venues of protests in that minority-dominated district.
To recall, the communal violence and riot-like situation in different pockets of Murshidabad broke out on April 8 and for the next few days vandalism over protests continued till a special division bench of the Calcutta High Court headed by Justice Soumen Sen, on April 12, ordered the deployment of central armed police forces (CAPF) personnel in the district to keep the situation under control.
As the matter came up for hearing again on Thursday, the division bench observed that the inadequate deployment of police personnel is not just in Murshidabad but in every district of West Bengal, which are hurdles for keeping situation under control during moments of crises.
The division bench also sought to know whether the state government has paid compensation to the victims of communal violence at Murshidabad as per the legal provisions.
Senior advocate of Calcutta High Court and Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee, who was pleading on behalf of the state government, argued that the problem of lesser police personnel than requirement is not just a problem for West Bengal but the entire country.
To one of his arguments, Justice Sen observed that in this particular case, his concern was the situation in West Bengal.
To Banerjee’s submission that the state government had given adequate compensation to the victims of communal violence in Murshidabad, Justice Sen observed that it is not necessary that what the state government feels to be “adequate” might be so in reality for the family members of the victims.
On Thursday, the division bench also directed that the CAPF deployment at the sensitive pockets in Murshidabad would continue till further order. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled on July 31.
On Thursday, the Union Government counsel informed the division bench that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is ready to take up the charge of investigation on the Murshidabad violence if the court gives permission on this count.
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