Kolkata, Apr 19 (PTI) Amidst patrolling by central and police forces in the riot-hit parts of Murshidabad district, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and National Human Rights Commission and National Commission for Women teams on Saturday separately visited the affected areas and interacted with the victims, assuring them of all possible help.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), however, criticised the visits and questioned the political motives behind them.

Violence broke out in Samsherganj, Suti, Dhulian and Jangipur areas of Murshidabad over anti-Waqf Amendment Act protests on April 11 and 12 that left three persons dead and hundreds displaced as their homes were burnt down and vandalised by miscreants.

During his visit to the district, a day after meeting riot-displaced people in Malda relief camps, Bose went to the home of Harogobindo Das and his son Chandan in Jafrabad, Shamsherganj, who were killed in the violence. He met their grieving families, listening to their pleas for justice and demands for security.

“I will look into their requests. They have asked for permanent BSF outposts in the locality as they were concerned about their security. I will take up the matter with the appropriate authorities. Some proactive action will definitely be taken. I have also shared with them the ‘Peace Room’ number (Raj Bhavan helpline),” Bose told reporters after visiting their residence.

Later, after speaking to locals in Dhulian Bazar area, Bose said, “I have asked them (the victims) to feel free to talk to me. They want justice and they will get it. I am with the people of Bengal. I will function within the Constitution and establish the rule of law.” On Friday, despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s request to postpone his visit, Bose visited Malda and met people who have taken shelter in a temporary relief camp after fleeing the violence-hit areas of Murshidabad district.

A NCW delegation, led by its chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, also met riot-hit people in Murshidabad district and assured them that the Centre would take necessary steps to ensure their safety.

During the visit, affected women shared their harrowing experiences from the recent communal violence and demanded the establishment of permanent BSF camps in select areas and called for an NIA probe into the clashes.

Rahatkar said, “I am dumbfounded by the agony these women are having to suffer. What they went through during the violence is beyond imagination.” The NCW chief assured the victims that there was “no cause for worry” as the Centre is with you.

The villagers were seen holding placards that displayed messages such as ‘We don’t want Lakshmir Bhandar, we want BSF camp. We want security’.

Lakshmir Bhandar is an empowerment project for the poor and underprivileged women launched by the TMC government.

“From what we’ve seen so far, the situation is extremely distressing. We can feel their pain and sufferings,” the NCW chief said.

Slamming the NCW’s visit, the TMC raised serious questions about the commission’s neutrality and political motivations behind its narrative against Bengal.

Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said NCW member Archana Majumdar, who has been prominently featured in media reports talking about the visit, is a “card-carrying BJP worker” who contested the 2021 Bengal elections on a BJP ticket before losing the race.

TMC state General Secretary Kunal Ghosh drew parallels to previous NCW visits to the state, particularly to Sandeshkhali, claiming they followed a familiar pattern of spreading misinformation.

“Why aren’t they going to states other than Bengal? Where are they when there are atrocities against women in Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh? Ghosh said.

Ghosh also flayed the visit of the governor to the troubled zone commenting “these synchronised visits by different central agencies and the governor to the same area points to the BJP’s gameplan not to normalise the situation”.

A team from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) toured the violence-hit areas of Murshidabad, listening to the harrowing accounts of victims, an official said.

On Friday, the NHRC visited the displaced people of Dhulian at the Malda relief camp.

The Opposition BJP held rallies in Dakshin Dinajpur, Dumdum and Bhawanipore areas of Kolkata, condemning police and administration’s role in Murshidabad violence.

They demanded the arrest of all those involved in the arson and attacks.

In the city, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the West Bengal government has turned relief camps — where riot-hit people have taken shelter in Baishnabnagar area — “detention” facilities, claiming that the administration is “not allowing” outsiders to meet the inmates or assess their conditions.

West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Subhankar Sarkar also visited the violence-hit areas of Murshidabad district and claimed that the riots were “pre-planned” and that no local Muslims were involved in it.

Sarkar, who was accompanied by other senior members of the party, including Malda Dakshin MP Isha Khan Choudhury and AICC observer Amba Prasad to Shamsherganj, spoke to the victims’ families and demanded that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should provide them jobs and take responsibility for the education of their children. “Here (in Murshidabad), people of every community stay together. The local Muslims are not involved in the riots. This is preplanned violence. There are people who are trying to spread violence in Bengal because of binary politics,” Sarkar added. PTI SCH SUS DC BDC MNB