New Delhi: The father of a Cockroach Janta Party supporter in West Bengal’s Bankura died on 15 August, two days after he was allegedly attacked inside his home by a group of men angered by his son filming the condition of the school he attended as a child as part of the CJP’s School Thik Karo campaign, police and the family told ThePrint on Sunday.
Abdul Hafiz, who blamed the attack on BJP workers, said his father succumbed to injuries at a government hospital in Bankura, where he was rushed after the assault.
“My father passed away on Saturday, a day–and–a–half after he was brutally attacked by these BJP local leaders,” Hafiz told The Print over a call on Sunday.
Bankura Superintendent of Police V.G. Satish Pasumarthi said they have detained the suspects. “We are told that his mother (Hafiz’s) is coming to lodge the complaint. We will take necessary legal action.”
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior officer at the Indas Police Station said. “We have learnt that his (Abdul Hafiz’s) father died on Saturday. But we have not received a complaint, and no FIR has been filed yet.”
The BJP, meanwhile, has said if their workers are involved and there is a police complaint naming them, strict action will be taken against them.
“That said, did this person dare to do a social audit when TMC government was in power? This is just a mechanism by TMC and the left to malign the new BJP,” BJP Bengal spokesperson Keya Ghosh told ThePrint Friday, a day after the attack, but before Hafiz’s father had died.
Hafiz, who had also participated in the CJP protests at Jantar Mantar, said he wanted to contribute to the social audit of schools to improve infrastructure and on Thursday went to the Karisunda Prathamik Vidyalaya, where he had studied as a student. He said he recorded some videos and returned home.
By 8 pm, some men turned up at his house, gheraoed it, allegedly thrashed him as well, apart from his ageing father. He said they snathced his phone and forced them to delete the videos of the school and also the ones he recorded at the Jantar Mantar.
“They charged at me with blades and sharp weapons and beat my father so much that he had to get stitches in his head,” said Hafiz, also claiming that when his family went to the hospital and police station, the alleged attackers also gheraoed these places and threatened them that they would be killed if he made such videos in the future.
“They charged at me with blades and sharp weapons and beat my father so much that he had to get stitches in his head,” said Hafiz.
SP Pasumarthi told ThePrint Friday that police personnel from the local Indas station had reached the spot Thursday night after learning about the incident, and moved Hafiz’s father to a local government hospital.
“We learnt that Hafiz and his family were being attacked on Thursday night and immediately a team reached the location. Taking help of a local driver, we removed his parents from the spot and rushed them to a hospital,” said the SP.
“We are yet to receive a written complaint from Hafiz and will act on it as soon as we receive it,” he added.
CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka slammed the BJP and the West Bengal police. “Our supporter from Indas PS, Bankura district, West Bengal, Abdul Hafiz was beaten up by BJP goons for visiting nearby school as a part of #SchoolThikKaro campaign. His father was also brutally beaten up.
“@WBPolice – Are you still Police of West Bengal or already migrated to becoming Police of @BJP4Bengal? Let us know through your actions, we will accordingly instruct the Cockroaches of Bengal,” he wrote.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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