The father of a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) volunteer in West Bengal’s Bankura died on Saturday, two days after he was allegedly assaulted by men identified by his son as local BJP workers over his participation in a campaign highlighting poor infrastructure at a government school.
Sk Muhammad Mafik, father of 25-year-old CJP volunteer Shaik Abdul Hafeez, succumbed to his injuries at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital. Hafeez alleged that the attackers entered their home on Thursday and assaulted both him and his father after he refused to apologise for highlighting the school’s condition.
Hafeez had visited the primary school he attended as a child in Karisunda village in the Indus area as part of the CJP’s nationwide ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign and later posted a video documenting its condition.
According to Hafeez, the men demanded that he record an apology and claim that he had raised the issue at the behest of outsiders. When he refused, they allegedly attacked him and his father. Hafeez suffered a serious neck injury, while Mafik sustained injuries to his head and chest. “All were from the local BJP. They got angry that they could not assault me and thus assaulted my father,” the 25-year-old said.
He further alleged that the family was confronted again while returning from the hospital and that the attackers took his mobile phone and deleted videos from it. “My father was a simple person. He told me to say sorry and resolve the issue,” Hafeez said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, however, said the FIR did not identify the accused as BJP workers. He confirmed that three of five accused had been arrested and said the remaining two would also be arrested. “Out of five people, three have already been arrested. The investigation is ongoing. The remaining two will also be arrested,” Adhikari said.
He added that home guards had been deployed outside the family’s home and said the CJP was free to hold its planned protest in Bankura. “They can protest in Bankura. We welcome them. It is a democratic country,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress condemned the incident, with MLA Kunal Ghosh calling for an end to the “threat culture”.
The CJP alleged that Mafik’s death was linked to the assault and said the incident followed Hafeez’s participation in the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign.
Shaik Abdul Hafeez also suggested that his participation in a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar could have made him a target. “It is possible that I became a target because I took part in the agitation at Jantar Mantar in Delhi,” he said.
