Bengal Governor assures complete rehabilitation of those displaced in Murshidabad violence

Kolkata, April 18 (IANS) West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Friday assured personal intervention in ensuring that each displaced family in the communal tension-hit Murshidabad district is completely rehabilitated.

"Several houses have been gutted. So the displaced families will be returned only after full rehabilitation is arranged for them. I personally came here to have first-hand experience of the prevailing situation. I will give a detailed report on the matter after going back,” the Governor told mediapersons after visiting a temporary relief shelter at a school in the Murshidabad-adjacent Malda district, where the victims of the violence are currently housed.

He also said that people from a community had been attacked at Murshidabad.

“While one group has launched the attack, the other group has been attacked. This cannot continue in a democratic system. Such violence is not acceptable in any civilized society. I have talked to people here including the children. A sense of fear is prevailing among them. People can't survive in such an ambiance of fear,” the Governor said.

A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by the commission chairperson Vijaya K. Rahatkar, also visited the same relief camp on Friday afternoon and also interacted with the displaced residents there.

Later, while speaking to the mediapersons after that interaction, delegation member Archana Majumdar made an explosive allegation against the district police.

“Those who were cooking at the relief camp have been forcefully driven away by the police. An attempt is going on to send back the displaced persons to their homes without arranging for their proper rehabilitation and security. The displaced women currently staying at this relief shelter do not want money or houses as compensation. They want central armed police forces personnel for their protection. They want protection of their dignity,” Majumdar said.

She also claimed that people from particular religious communities have been targeted.

“Their houses at Murshidabad had been burnt down. They were given rape threats. Even voluntary organizations like Ramakrishna Mission are not allowed to enter the relief camps. The media is barred entry here so that the grievances of the displaced people do not reach the outside world," Majumdar alleged.

--IANS

src/pgh