Over 200 arrested in West Bengal's Murshidabad for violence over Waqf Act
Three people were killed on 12 April in the violence that erupted in protest of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill
There has been no major incident of violence in India's Murshidabad district in the past 36 hours, West Bengal police said today (14 April), adding that more FIRs have been registered and the number of arrests have crossed 200.
"Our main priority is that normal life is restored. There has been no incident in the past 36 hours," Jawed Shamim, additional director general (Law and Order) told journalists, reports The Hindu.
Shamim said the process of return of people who had fled their house in the violence-affected areas of Murshidabad district to Malda district has begun, and about 19 people have returned to their homes.
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The police officer said about 100 to 200 families had fled by crossing the river and taken shelter in a school at Baishnabnagar in adjoining Malda district.
The political parties of the opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleged that about 400 people from Murshidabad had to flee from their homes to escape violence.
Expressing hope that normalcy will be restored at the earliest, Shamim said those who were responsible for the violence on 11 and 12 April will not be spared.
On allegations by opposition parties that members of outfits like banned Popular Front of India (PFI) may be involved, the police officer said it was a subject of investigation.
"There were so many events planned [in the State] over the past 15 days, and all the events and festivals were observed peacefully. The scale of mobilisation on Friday and Saturday [11 and 12 April] was so high and a number of fronts were opened at the same time so it may be possible that police could not reach all places with the same intensity," the ADG said.
Shamim also described the lynching of two members of the same family at Dhulian as a "heinous crime" and said those who were responsible will not be spared.
Three people were killed on 12 April and 18 policemen sustained injuries in the violence that erupted in protest of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
In Murshidabad the situation was slowly returning to normalcy with central armed police forces conducting route marches. Inspector General of CRPF Virendra Kumar Sharma was also posted in the area along with senior police officials. The IG directed the central forces to conduct route marches and build confidence among people.
