West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose met families affected by the Murshidabad violence, in Malda on Friday
| Photo Credit:
ANI

Rejecting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal to defer his visit, Governor CV Ananda Bose on Friday visited Malda and interacted with the people who sought refuge there after an episode of violence in Murshidabad district.

Teams from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Women (NCW) also visited Malda relief camps to meet the victims.

The ruling Trinamool Congress criticised the visits by the Governor and NHRC and NCW teams, and alleged that they were aimed at stoking tension in the already-volatile region.

Protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act spiralled into an episode of violence last week in Muslim-dominated Murshidabad district, where three people were killed and several others injured.

‘Camp worse than a prison’

During the Governor’s visit, inmates of the Parlalpur High School relief camp in Malda’s Baishnabnagar staged protests alleging “police-imposed censorship, denial of access to visitors and inhumane living conditions”.

A few hundreds have taken shelter in the relief camp since April 11 and 12, when clashes were rife in Murshidabad. “This camp feels worse than a prison. The police are not allowing us to meet anyone and narrate our ordeal,” an inmate told reporters.

Bose left for Malda Friday morning despite a request from Banerjee to postpone his trip “in the interest of maintaining calm”. The Governor said he wanted to independently verify ground reports. Raj Bhawan officials, accompanying him, took note of the complaints of camp residents.

Asked about the complaints of inhume living conditions at the camps, Bose said he would seek a detailed report and talk to the administration.

Several inmates accused the police of not allowing them to speak to the media or meet visiting relatives. NHRC members also took note after talking to members of the affected families.

Bengal and violence

A delegation from the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, visited the camps to assess the condition of women displaced by the violence.

“I am shocked by the condition of women and children here. They were evicted from their homes and have gone through unimaginable trauma,” Rahatkar said after interacting with inmates, reported PTI.

The Governor stated that there were two cancerous growths in West Bengal’s politics–violence and corruption. “The cult of violence is a reality in Bengal. We have two cancerous growths on the body politic of West Bengal – one is violence, and the other is corruption. We must strike at the root of this. I’m sure that victory will be ours,” Bose told ANI while on his way to Malda from Kolkata.

“I would request the Governor to wait for some more days before going to Murshidabad. I could have gone there. But I refrained since my visit there will encourage others to go. A team from the West Bengal Commission for Women also wanted to go there. But I asked them to wait for a few more days,” the Chief Minister had said on Thursday.

Published on April 18, 2025