Leftist Hindu leader fails to evade Islamists; battered cruelly
No immediate relief from mounting
political oppressions is being found in the state these days; neither the
reigning Trinamool Congress is letting its opponents heave a sigh of relief nor
the parties in the opposition are sparing each other. Rising violent
disturbances have brought forth another horror as well; in the majority of turmoil,
if not more, Hindus have become the sole targets while Islamists remain busy to
assail them as henchmen of oppressing parties. The reality portraying the
horrid picture of Bengal is enough to send a shudder through the spine and,
Samar Saha, wealthy farmer living in the village of Dhalla within Budhigram area,
Margram police station’s jurisdiction in the district of Birbhum, is in despair
at present.
Samar Saha, it has been found, is
the local committee secretary of Forward Bloc while his wife Purnima Saha is an
Anganwadi worker. On May 18, at 11 am, Prasenjit Saha, son of Samar Saha, was
returning from their agricultural fields in Budhigram. However, he had a brief
tussle midway with a few drunk Muslim youths living in the neighboring village
of Imamnagar. Prasenjit informed his father; Samar Saha reached the place soon
and tried to calm the Muslim youths down. But it failed to have any response
and aged Samar Saha was also insulted. Finding no other option, he phoned Kalam
Sheikh, his friend and also head of the local Panchayat. The phone went on
ringing; both of them returned silently.
What followed next was nothing
except a disaster. At 7 pm, a complete hell was unleashed on the Hindu family by
a group of Islamists led by Sheikh Alam (Congress member of the Panchayat) and Kalam
Sheikh (old friend of Samar Saha). The group comprised 50 armed Muslim assailants
who asked for Prasenjt at the outset. Samar had already asked Prasenjit to hide
in a room and this act worsened the situation more. Furious at this defiance,
Samar Saha was assaulted ferociously by Islamist henchmen and he started
bleeding profusely soon. His head was struck by an iron rod. Women were also
not spared; Purnima Saha was manhandled and if villagers are believed, she was
molested virtually. Once neighboring Hindus turned up there and started
defending, the group fled but prior to that they ransacked the residence of
Swapan Mal, another Hindu individual, also.
As stated by sources, Kailash Mal (Congress
member of village Panchayat) had learnt of developments in the morning and had premonition
of another spate of attack in the same evening also. He assured Sheikh Alam to
deal with the issue all alone and ask Prasenjit to beg mercy. Islamists were
against any such amiable act and this got proved when they attacked the family
to teach Hindus in the neighborhood a lesson.
A team of police from the Margram police station
visited the spot later on and sent Samar Saha and his wife to the nearby
hospital. An FIR was also lodged against Sheikh Alam, Kamal Sheikh and their
accomplices but none of the culprits has been arrested yet. Even if neighboring
Hindus are upset at this development, it is also undeniable that Samar Saha had
a good relation with these Islamists also. On May 20, Tapan Ghosh, president of
Hindu Samhati, as a part of his programs in Rampurhat, went to the residence of
Samar Saha in the village of Dhalla and asked Hindus to fortify an active
resistance to prevent more attacks in the offing.
Hindu Samhati regularly
monitors and reports violations against Hindus in West Bengal. We also work
with both governmental and NGO agencies for proper education on protection and
ensure remedies to the Hindu populace as per prevailing law of the land.
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