Kolkata: Three FIRs have been filed in connection with two deaths at an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest at Jalangi town in West Bengal’s Murshidabad earlier this week, ThePrint has learnt.
The deaths occurred because of shootings that took place during the protest, and police said local tensions between two groups were to blame.
The sequence of events pieced together by police so far suggests that the web of local tensions allegedly culminated in the firing of guns Wednesday — tensions that are believed to have sparked clashes despite the warring sides’ shared resentment against the CAA.
The suspects include Tohiruddin Mondal, a local block president affiliated with the Trinamool Congress, who is now at large.
The victims were a minor, Salauddin Sheikh, 17, and a cleric named Anarul Biswas, 60.
The FIRs were filed Thursday, a day after the protesters died of bullet wounds. Meanwhile, the incident has taken a political turn amid allegations that the groups in the clashes involved bore different stripes.
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A border town
Jalangi, which lies 210 km from Kolkata, is a small town in the Murshidabad district, located near the Bangladesh border.
Sixty-six per cent of Murshidabad’s population is Muslim.
The area has always been a stronghold of the Congress, but the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress won two of Murshidabad’s three Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general election.
The district has been an epicentre for the protests against the CAA, which seeks to ease citizenship for six non-Muslim minorities from India’s three Muslim-majority neighbours, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In the violence and vandalism that followed the CAA’s passage in Parliament last month, Murshidabad bore the brunt.
The day of the protest
On the morning of 29 January, the day of the deaths, a group of anti-CAA protesters under the banner of ‘Nagarik Mancha (citizens’ forum)’ called for a bandh in the Sahebnagar area of Jalangi and blocked a road.
The Nagarik Mancha comprises workers and supporters of many political parties, primarily the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), the Hyderabad-based party that has been making inroads in the region.
According to a senior AIMIM leader, since the party did not get permission from the administration to hold anti-CAA programmes — and neither did the Congress and CPI(M) — they came together to form a common forum in the area.
Amid the bandh, police sources said, a group of Trinamool Congress workers led by Tohiruddin reached the spot to “disperse the protesters”. A clash ensued and Tohiruddin allegedly fired a few shots.
Anarul Biswas, the cleric, died of a bullet injury.
According to Salauddin’s father Nur Islam, one of the complainants, his son was killed when a group — led by a man identified as Samim Akhter Zaman — also opened fire. Tohiruddin’s brother, the sources said, also sustained a bullet injury and is undergoing treatment.
Following the clash, a mob set some vehicles on fire and ransacked local shops, the police sources added.
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The 3 FIRs
Three FIRs were filed at the Jalangi police station in the case the next day — two in connection with the deaths and the third pertaining to an alleged attack on a person.
The first FIR stems from a complaint filed by Biswas’ widow Owahida, and names Tohiruddin Mondal and 11 others. It invokes IPC Section 302 (murder) and the Arms Act against Mondal and the others.
According to the FIR, Biswas was returning home after namaz when Mondal and the other suspects reached the protest spot in a car and started firing indiscriminately. Biswas was struck by a bullet and died on the spot.
The second FIR deals with the killing of Salauddin Sheikh and was filed on a complaint from his father Nur Islam. Salauddin died on the spot too. Islam’s complaint named as suspects Zaman and four others, all of whom have been booked under the same charges as Tohiruddin and his fellow accused.
While Zaman is on the run, two others — Sanatan Mondal and Salauddin — have been arrested.
The third FIR pertains to alleged injuries sustained by one Niyakat Ali, who claims his car was attacked with iron rods, and bombs were hurled at him. He has alleged that he was also beaten with rods by one Nur Selim Islam and his men. The suspects in this case have been booked for attempt to murder and rioting, and one arrest has been made.
‘Protesters vs protesters’
Speaking to ThePrint, police sources attributed the clash to local tensions, calling it a “turf war” under the garb of anti-CAA protests.
In the aftermath of the violence, a heavy police presence has been deployed at Jalangi.
Meanwhile, a political blame-game has begun, with the Congress questioning the “deteriorating law and order situation in Bengal” under the Trinamool Congress.
“The Congress never organised any violent protest since the anti-CAA demonstrations started in December,” said Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury. “In Bengal, nobody but the ruling Trinamool Congress has the right to hold any political programme. The law and order situation is the worst here as the ruling party leaders are opening fire and fleeing the spot.”
Trinamool Congress MP Abu Taher Khan described the incident as a “local problem”.
“Police [must] probe into it and take appropriate action,” he added. Asked about allegations that his party colleagues opened fire at peaceful protesters, he said, “We will discuss this at a party meeting.”
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