Cal HC seeks report from state on Beldanga violence

Kolkata: In the wake of the recent incident of violence in Beldanga, Murshidabad, the Calcutta High Court, on Tuesday, directed the state to submit a report on Wednesday based on which the decision to deploy Central Forces will be taken.

Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose is also learnt to have sought an action-taken report from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the incident. The Bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya was hearing two PILs. According to the petitioners, the action of the police authorities was lopsided and the real culprits were spared which has percolated a sense in the mind of a particular religious community that their safety and security are at stake. The court directed the state to submit a report on Wednesday on the eruption of such untoward incident, and adequate measures taken, to secure the safety and security of the inhabitants of Murshidabad, particularly in the Beldanga area.

The report shall also mention measures taken to combat such incidents and the names of the persons apprehended in connection with it.

The court directed that the Superintendent of Police or the other high officials shall take immediate steps to restore persons who were allegedly forced to leave their homes and provide them adequate security. The court said all the reliefs, including the deployment of the central forces, shall be considered after the report is filed by the police administration.

The state was also directed to provide all medical assistance to the injured in the respective hospitals where they have been admitted and shall continue to provide such assistance until they recover.

The court observed: “The safety and security of the citizenry of the State is a primary duty of the State administration and such conduct should not only be impartial and fair but seem to be so without any discrimination nor should permeate any sense of such discrimination”.

The advocate general submitted that the police personnel are keeping vigilance of the locality and the regular march is undertaken for the safety and security to build the confidence of the inmates of the said locality.