Kolkata, 19 January (H.S.) :
The recent violence in Beldanga area of Murshidabad district has reached the Calcutta High Court, with the court granting permission to file two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) in connection with the incident.
A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sujay Pal on Monday allowed the filing of the PILs, indicating that the matter could be taken up for hearing on Tuesday. One of the petitions will be filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while the other has been moved on behalf of local residents of Beldanga.
The petitioners have urged the court to direct the deployment of central security forces in Beldanga, similar to the order issued earlier during unrest in Murshidabad’s Shamsherganj area. They argued that central forces are necessary to maintain law and order and prevent further escalation.
The violence in Beldanga erupted last Friday following Friday prayers, after the body of Alaudin Sheikh, a labourer from Beldanga working in Jharkhand, was found hanging under suspicious circumstances. Protests broke out in the area over the incident, leading to widespread demonstrations on both rail and road routes.
Protesters allegedly resorted to vandalism and stone-pelting on trains bound for Berhampore, causing severe disruption on the Lalgola rail line, where several trains were stranded one after another. The unrest continued into Saturday, forcing the cancellation of multiple trains on the Lalgola route.
Vehicular movement on National Highway-12 came to a complete halt, while demonstrators staged a sit-in at Beldanga railway station. Railway gates were reportedly damaged, severely affecting daily life in the region.
Due to the continuous protests over two days, buses and private vehicles remained stranded on roads for hours. Elderly people, children and commuters faced significant hardship, while train passengers and tourists were also impacted by the disruption. Although the situation is currently reported to be under control, the two-day-long unrest has now come under judicial scrutiny with the High Court’s intervention.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
