Ram Navami clashes: NHRC issues notices to West Bengal govt over violence in Asansol, Raniganj

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notices to West Bengal government over violence in Asansol and Raniganj, according to reports.

National Human Rights Commission issues notices to the Government of West Bengal over unabated violence in Asansol- Raniganj area, also asks its DG (Investigation) to depute a team for spot inquiry.

— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2018

Expressing serious concern over the situation, the NHRC has issued the notice to the state’s chief secretary, home secretary and the director general of police, seeking detailed reports in four weeks. The rights panel in a statement said, it has also asked its Director General (Investigation) to depute a team headed by an officer not below the rank of an SSP to visit the disturbed areas of Asansol-Raniganj for spot investigation or inquiry to assess the actual situation and submit a report within three weeks. [caption id=“attachment_4200227” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI[/caption] The NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of reports alleging “failure of law enforcing agencies in protecting the right to life, liberty and dignity of the innocent people, who have become victims of violence in Asansol-Raniganj area of West Bengal since 25 March.” “According to media reports, people, who dialled helpline 100 to seek police assistance, have stated that no police personnel came to help them. The unruly mob has destroyed the public and private properties. There are many families from different communities, as mentioned in the news report, who have lost everything in the ongoing violence,” the Commission said in the statement. A person was allegedly hacked to death while a Deputy Commissioner of Police lost a hand after getting hit by a bomb during the clash between two groups centring on a Ram Navami procession organised by the Sangh affiliates in Raniganj last week. Several others including police personnel also sustained injuries in the incident. The communal tension spilt onto other parts of Asansol. A BJP delegation reached Asansol on Sunday to visit relief camps and violence-affected areas. The delegation accused the West Bengal government of lack of initiative in handling the unrest and demanded strict action against the culprits. “Almost seven days have passed since the violence but there have been no initiatives either from the state or the ruling party to help out the victims. They also showed complete lack of will in handling the unrest,” BJP vice-president Om Mathur, who led the four-member party committee to the affected areas, told reporters in Kolkata. Echoing Mathur, BJP’s spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain claimed the Mamata Banerjee government is causing pain to the people of Bengal while the BJP is “giving them the remedy”. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has also decided to revamp its intelligence wing to help avert incidents of violence in the state, a senior home department official said. Caught off guard during the Asansol-Raniganj violence, the state is also planning to strengthen its ground-level intelligence gathering mechanism, the official told PTI. West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi also visited the strife-torn areas of Raniganj and Asansol in West Bardhaman district and held a meeting with the police officials and the local administration. With inputs from agencies