After the landslide victory in West Bengal by Mamata Banerjee and her party, TMC, in the recently concluded Assembly Elections, allegations of brutal political violence by the party unleashed on BJP workers have been mounting. On June 18, the court had directed the chairperson of NHRC to form a panel to examine the cases of alleged human rights violation during post-poll violence.
As a part of the NHRC panel, Atif Rasheed, the vice-chairman of the minority commission was on a visit to Jadavpur where sectarian and political violence had ravaged the area post the electoral victory of TMC. Just as he was investigating the ground situation, videos surfaced where the locals of the area were seen threatening him.
In the video, it can be seen that an angry mob of women and men were threatening Rasheed. Atif Rasheed, as seen in the video, kept telling the mob that they could not behave in that manner and had to take a step back. CISF personnel can be seen trying to control the irate mob.
In another video, Atif Rasheed was seen walking away from the mob. Talking to the camera, Rasheed says that he and his team were being attacked by a TMC mob.
In another stunning revelation, Rasheed says that the local police was there when he visited the area, however, when the TMC mob started attacking him, the police simply disappeared. Taking the video, Rasheed says that this should serve as evidence for the High Court about the reign of terror that has been unleashed in Bengal.
What Atif Rasheed found in Jadavpur
Speaking to OpIndia, Atif Rasheed said that he was a part of the NHRC committee as a vice-chairman of the minority commission. The Committee was constituted by the High Court and they were directed to investigate the post-poll violence that was unleashed in West Bengal after TMC came to power.
He said that since the High Court had asked them to visit the ground and investigate the violence, Rasheed had gone to Jadavpur where sectarian and political violence had gripped the area. There, he found that there were 40 houses that belonged to BJP workers that had been burnt to the ground. He further said that for the past 2 months, nobody knows the whereabouts of the BJP activists.
Rasheed said that the police had filed no FIRs or complaints in the matter even after rampant post-poll violence in Jadavpur, Bengal.
When on ground, Rasheed began to take a video of the 40 houses that were burnt to the ground. It was then when the mob gheroad him and started threatening him. Speaking to OpIndia, Rasheed said that he had no qualms in saying that the houses belonged to BJP workers and were burnt down by TMC goons. He further said that the mob that was threatening him because he was recording a video of the burnt down houses also consisted of men and women from the TMC.
Political violence in West Bengal
During post-poll violence, over two dozen BJP karyakartas were reportedly killed. In a report submitted by the Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), it was mentioned that those who suffered the wrath of TMC workers after winning the elections were from marginal sections of Hindu society who had voted for BJP. They said, “The victims primarily belong to the very marginal sections of Hindu society which have voted for the BJP in the assembly elections. The report says, “The main modus operandi of the TMC is to debilitate political opponents by targeting their bodies, economic resources and their psychological wellbeing. This involves physical and sexual attacks, destruction of living spaces, property and means of production however small they are.”