Murshidabad violence: Calcutta High Court-appointed panel says police were inactive at some places

The police were “completely inactive and absent” during the communal violence that broke out in West Bengal’s Murshidabad in April, a three-member fact-finding committee appointed by the Calcutta High Court to investigate the unrest has found, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

The committee’s report, based on the testimony of those affected by the violence, stated that the police failed to respond to distress calls from residents. It also mentioned that Trinamool Congress leader Mehboob Alam was present at the site of the violence, The Hindu reported.

Violence broke out in Murshidabad on April 11 and 12 during protests against amendments to the Waqf Act passed by Parliament on April 4. Three persons were killed in the violence.