NHRC issues notice to West Bengal over violence in Asansol, Raniganj
Kolkata, April 2: After the communal violence went haywire in West Bengal leading to three deaths and rising the temperature over violence, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notices to West Bengal government over violence in Asansol and Raniganj.
Expressing serious concern over the situation, the NHRC has issued the notice to the state's chief secretary, home secretary and the director general of police, seeking detailed reports in four weeks. The rights panel in a statement said, it has also asked its Director General (Investigation) to depute a team headed by an officer not below the rank of an SSP to visit the disturbed areas of Asansol-Raniganj for spot investigation or inquiry to assess the actual situation and submit a report within three weeks.
The NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of reports alleging "failure of law enforcing agencies in protecting the right to life, liberty and dignity of the innocent people, who have become victims of violence in Asansol-Raniganj area of West Bengal since 25 March."
On March 25th, the Ramnavami processions in Purulia, Murshidabad, Bardhman West and Raniganj were allegedly attacked by the anti-social elements causing death of two persons and injuring dozens, some of them seriously including a senior police official who lost his hand in a bomb attack during a clash in Raniganj area.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has also decided to revamp its intelligence wing to help avert incidents of violence in the state. Caught off guard during the Asansol-Raniganj violence, the state is also planning to strengthen its ground-level intelligence gathering mechanism.