Violence broke out in parts of Howrah over a Ram Navami procession. file | Photo Credit: Debashish Bhaduri
A six-member fact-finding committee on alleged human rights violations in West Bengal, headed by former Patna High Court Chief Justice Narasimha Reddy, on Monday said in its interim report that Riots during Ram Navami The processions were “pre-planned, orchestrated and instigated”. The fact-finding panel demanded a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the violence.
The fact-finding team was on a three-day visit to West Bengal during this period to assess the alleged human rights violations in the state Ram Navami processions in Howrah and Hooghly districts. Former Chief Justice of Patna High Court L.K. Narasimha Reddy, Former IPS Raj Pal Singh, Former Member National Commission for Women Advocate Charu Wali Khanna, Former Joint Registrar (Law) National Human Rights Commission of India Advocate OP Vyas, Senior Journalist Sanjeev Nayak and Former Advisor National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Advocate Bhavna Bajaj.
“The Committee is of the view that the riots that broke out on March 30 on the auspicious occasion of Varsha Navami and continued thereafter were pre-planned, well-planned and instigated. The trigger was the grossly inflammatory speech of the West Bengal Chief Minister. The Committee was informed by several users- Generated videos and media reports are also reporting several videos which confirm that peaceful Ram Navami processions were targeted and rioters were asked to stop and target the procession,” the report said. Is.
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The committee, in its report, noted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on a dharna just before the processions on Ram Navami and called through a communal speech that any procession (literally) passing through ‘Muslim areas’ would be severely dealt with. The Committee noted that there appears to have been communally charged mob violence against people participating in peaceful Ram Navami processions and at the same time the State Police was completely missing in action to control the rioters. The committee demanded appropriate police action in the matter by registering an FIR against the culprits behind the riots to bring justice to the victims.
The committee also demanded that the probe into the riots be handed over to the NIA to ensure that the investigation is conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner; Provide protection to persecuted and intimidated victims so that their lives can return to normalcy, including withdrawal of false cases against innocent persons and deployment of central forces as a confidence-building measure for victims who have lost faith in the state police can be increased. ,
Notably, violent clashes took place in Howrah, West Bengal, during the Ram Navami procession. Several vehicles were torched in a clash between two groups in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire.
After the violence in Howrah, the West Bengal government… On March 31, the investigation was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)., A special team led by Inspector General of Police, CID Sunil Chowdhary started the investigation. Last week, clashes broke out during the BJP’s Shobha Yatra (procession) in Hooghly. The state government later issued prohibitory orders and also suspended internet services across the district.