Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Apr 12: The Calcutta High Court on Saturday ordered the immediate deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in West Bengal's Murshidabad district following violent protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act that left at least three people dead. The unrest, concentrated in minority-dominated pockets of the district, had overwhelmed local law enforcement, prompting urgent judicial intervention.
The directive came after Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, filed a petition seeking CAPF deployment in Murshidabad, along with Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, and Kolkata. A special bench comprising Justices Soumen Sen and Raja Basu Chowdhury heard the matter and, after a detailed review, approved central force deployment only in Murshidabad.
The court’s ruling mandates that the deployment—primarily Border Security Force (BSF) personnel—be expanded from isolated trouble zones like Suti, Samserganj, and Dhulian to the entire district. The decision followed serious allegations from Adhikari's counsel, who accused state library services minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury of inciting violence through inflammatory speeches and claimed the state administration had failed to effectively utilise the CAPF already on ground.
While the state government's legal representative, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee, dismissed the petition as politically driven, he stated the government did not oppose the deployment in principle.
The court acknowledged the severity of the violence and made clear that it could not remain a silent observer amid such disturbing developments.
Reacting to the verdict, BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the West Bengal Police for their failure to maintain order. “This should be deeply embarrassing for Mamata Banerjee, but she will likely pretend nothing happened,” he said in a statement, calling it a failure of governance.
The deployment aims to restore calm in Murshidabad, where tensions remain high.