NIA visits violence-hit Mominpur-Ekbalpur in Kolkata, must probe into these 10 points.

NIA Team reaches Mominpur to find out all aspects of escalating Hindu-Muslim violence there. The probe must look into 10 points importantly.

Rabiranjan Sengupta | HENB | Kolkata | Oct 22, 2022:: Finally, a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the Ekbalpur-Mominpur area in Kolkata, where violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims after Durga Puja. It was reported that the classhes broke out following an alleged desecration of an Islamic flag. It was also reported that some Muslims were forcefully putting flags for Milad-un Nabi in the Hindu dominated area.

The development came four days after the central agency took over the investigation upon the Home Ministry’s orders.

Accordingly, the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalization division of the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the agency to register a First Information Report and start a thorough probe considering the gravity of the case. Earlier the case was being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kolkata Police, headed by Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal.

V R Singh, the NIA superintendent, arrived with his team of four to five special officers, to probe the Ekbalpur-Mominpur violence, which left several policemen, including deputy commissioner of police Soumya Roy, injured. Some 5000 Hindus were compelled to leave those areas under Jihadi mayhem.

The investigating team reached the spot around 3:10pm on Saturday afternoon. The NIA team visited all the violence-hit areas, along with the Kolkata police, amid heavy security and also spoke to the locals and the officers of Kolkata Police.

On October 9, dozens of vehicles were damaged, Hindu homes and business were vandalized and fanatic majority people there hurled stones to the minority Hindus in Mominpur area. According to the police, ‘the violence ensued after religious flags put up for Milad un-Nabi were allegedly torn down. As the violence escalated, a large number of people surrounded the Ekbalpur Police Station.’

So far reported, police arrested 63 people and clamped prohibitory orders under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the area following the incident with lodging 5 separate FIRs by Kolkata Police.

The NIA has registered an FIR and submitted the same before a special court seeking the handover of all those arrested in connection with the violence.

Earlier this month, a Calcutta High Court division bench had called for the formation of an SIT. While the HC did not pas any order for an NIA probe in the matter on that day, it had left the matter to the discretion of the Union ministry to decide whether there would be a central agency probe or not.

The Court looked at preliminary reports filed before it. It noted that five criminal cases had already been registered over the incident under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and the Arms Act, 1959, the investigation of which cases was in progress. The Court also noted that as per the preliminary report, 42 persons were arrested, 15 live bombs, 4 crude bombs and various other weapons had already been seized, and that Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was promulgated in the area.

Besides asking the SIT to submit a report on the action taken to the same bench within the next two weeks, the division bench also directed the state government to pay compensation to those affected by violence and also report to the court on the action taken by the police on the basis of FIRs lodged in the matter. It also directed a collection of video footage in the case.

The NIA probe must look into these 10 points obviously:

1. Whether there was actually any case of desecration of any Islamic flag Milad-un-Nabi or it was a perpetrated action of some fanatical people of that area.
2.  Why the communal tension of 9th Oct escalated so fast in the affected areas.
3. Who collected such huge amount of bricks, stones, crude bombs etc. to attack the Hindus of that area to make that mayhem and how those were procured?
4. What was the role of Kolkata Police on 9th -10th Oct when Hindus were rampantly attacked, their houses and business were vandalized, their vehicles were damaged and Hindus were fleeing of that area. And what was the role of police to rescue the victimized people.
5. What was the role of the Police when they were attacked by a violent mob including 9 personnel with a DCP.
6. Whether the entry restriction of the media in the affected areas helped the attackers under a state indulgence.
7. What was the real reason of arrest of and repression on Journalist  Manab Guha who published the news of Mominpur-Ekbalpur violence.
8. What was the reason of Silence of WB CM Mamata Banerjee and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim on Mominpur-Ekbalpur Violence and whether their indulgence helped the fanatic attackers with new enthusiasm.
9. Whether the violence of Mominpur-Ekbalpur was provoked by any Terrorist organisation active in that area and WB. Or, whether the operators of the violence were connected to any/many radical Islamic organisation(s).
10. Whether there is a preparation of Jihadi people like Mominpur-Ekbalpur to run further attacks on peace-loving and law-abiding Hindu people in the state in near future.

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__Inputs from ANI and Times Now.