West Bengal Police Accused Of Intimidating Murshidabad Violence Victims, Family Of Killed Father-Son Duo Writes To CJI

The family of the father-son duo killed in the Murshidabad violence has accused the West Bengal Police of intimidating them while they reside in Kolkata at the Salt Lake home of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker.

The relatives of Haragobinda Das and Chandan Das have penned a letter alleging intimidation by the state police to the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, T S Sivagnanam, and the Governor of West Bengal, C V Ananda Bose.

The family claims that on Sunday (4 May) morning, a squad from the Murshidabad police force forcefully entered their dwelling where they've been living for the past week, subjecting them to harassment.

Conversely, the police refuted the accusation, stating that their visit to the Salt Lake home was in response to a written complaint from a family member of Das, who claimed that the family had been kidnapped, The Indian Express reported.

Upon receiving a kidnapping complaint, officers from the Murshidabad local police station reportedly visited the family at their Salt Lake residence on Sunday morning to discuss the matter, as stated by the police.

The letter asserts that the family had come to Kolkata of their own volition and were under no duress. They expressed feeling "shaken and traumatised by the brazen conduct of the officers involved, particularly Sankar Narayan Saha (Inspector-in-Charge), Rakesh Ray, Bablu Das, Manik Mondal, Kaushik Ghosh, and Chaitanya Das."

"Despite our cooperation, the IO (investigation officer) continued to attempt to intimidate us, though his efforts were in vain," the letter accused police of abusing their authority by harassing and attempting to intimidate them.

"We therefore plead with folded hands for urgent protection and intervention. We request that appropriate Central forces be deployed to ensure our safety and that we be provided secure passage to the Hon’ble High Court so that we may seek justice under the Constitution of India,” the letter concluded.

In the meantime, a BJP leader revealed that the Das family has been relocated to a secret location.