Family of father, son killed in Murshidabad violence refuses compensation
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Kolkata: The family of Hargobindo Das and Chandan Das, who were tragically killed in last week's violence in Murshidabad district, has refused the compensation offered by the state government.
The unrest, which claimed three lives, erupted in minority-dominated areas of Murshidabad following protests against the newly promulgated Waqf (Amendment) Act.
According to the family's complaint, a group of protesters stormed their residence in Samserganj on the morning of April 12 and allegedly hacked the father and son to death in front of their family members.
During a meeting on Wednesday with Imams, Muezzins, and religious leaders from the Muslim community regarding the impact and protests surrounding the Waqf Act, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for each family affected by the violence.
However, the following day, members of the Das family firmly stated that they would not accept the compensation offered by the state government as announced by the Chief Minister.
"Had the police reached in time, probably they would have survived. Now they are gone and will never come back. So what will we do with the compensation now? No compensation is enough for the two valuable lives for us,” said a member of the family.
They claimed that although the situation had started becoming normal in pockets of Murshidabad following the deployment of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel since the night of April 12, an air of fear was still prevailing at Samserganj.
The impact of the fear, said the family member of the victims, could be felt on the ‘Shradh (post-death rituals)’ of the deceased father and the son on April 15.
“The priests and barber, whose presence is mandatory in such a ritual, did not turn up out of fear,” he added.
Meanwhile, a team from the National Commission of Women (NCW), which has taken suo motu cognisance of the Murshidabad violence that resulted in three deaths, is set to arrive in Kolkata.
On Friday and Saturday, the team plans to engage with women from families displaced by the violence. Additionally, they will meet with the Murshidabad District Magistrate and the district police superintendent to discuss the situation and assess the response measures.
(inputs from IANS)
