2 Senior Murshidabad Police Officials Transferred Days After Violent Protests

The West Bengal government on Friday announced the replacement of the current police superintendents in both the police districts of minority--dominated Murshidabad district, which had been on the boil earlier this month following communal violence and riot-like situation as protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act there turned violent.

Murshidabad district has two separate "police districts", namely Murshidabad and Jangipur, with one Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in superintendent rank being in-charge of the police district.

As per a notification issued by the state government on Friday evening, a copy of which is available with IANS, the erstwhile superintendent of Murshidabad Police, Surya Pratap Yadav, has been transferred to a comparatively less significant post of commanding officer of Narayani Battalion in Cooch Behar district.

Yadav has been replaced by Kumar Sunny Raj, the erstwhile superintendent of Ranaghat Police district in Nadia district.

Similarly, on Friday, the state government also ordered the replacement of the erstwhile superintendent of Jangipur Police district, Ananda Roy, who has again been a comparatively lesser significant post of commanding officer of the third battalion, Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) at Salua in West Midnapore district.

Roy has been replaced by Amit Kumar Shaw, the erstwhile deputy commissioner (traffic) of Kolkata Police.

Officially, the state government has described the transfers as routine ones.

Both the police districts in Murshidabad had been under scathing criticism from various sections for reacting late in preventing communal violence in the district as they ignored early intelligence inputs about the possible violence.

Even West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose had been critical of the role of the state police in the matter.

Also, on Friday, the National Commission for Women issued a statement highlighting the negligence and failure on part of the West Bengal government to take preventive action against the communal violence despite having enough and prior intelligence inputs.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)