Murshidabad violence: Relief camp inmates upset over cops 'maintaining secrecy' during talks with NHRC team

Kolkata, April 18 (IANS) The displaced victims of the recent communal violence in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, who are currently housed at a temporary relief shelter at a school in the adjacent Malda district, on Friday, accused the district police of maintaining blanket secrecy during their interactions with the representatives of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) visiting the relief camp.

After the NHRC representatives left the relief camp late Friday afternoon, those displaced victims of Murshidabad violence started protesting and accusing the police of turning the shelter camp into a virtual fortress, allegedly to prevent information about their interaction with the NHRC representatives reaching outside.

They alleged that the police action to maintain secrecy in the matter also caused inconvenience to those taking shelter at the relief camps, as the police not only barred the entry of outsiders to the camp but also prevented the camp residents from going out of the camp since Friday morning.

The relief camp residents also claimed that even their relatives coming from Murshidabad to meet them were also not allowed to enter the camps and meet them.

They also alleged that the entire relief camp area within the school campus had been covered by a thick layer of tarpaulin to prevent the displaced residents from interacting with the mediapersons and describe what they faced in Murshidabad last week when the violence broke out.

They also complained about the quality of food provided to them at the relief camp.

"Mostly, we are served with stale food. Even those local people who are willing to help us are being prevented by the police from interacting with us. Our relatives are not being allowed to meet us. We have been kept incommunicado from the outer world,” claimed a woman resident of the relief shelter at Malda.

The police, however, denied the allegations of deliberately maintaining an absolute secretary in the name of security arrangements at the shelter home.

According to the police personnel, security arrangements have been made at the shelter camp, keeping in mind the VVIP movements there throughout the day.

--IANS

src/pgh