Kolkata, 17 September (H.S.): Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has written to Professor Nicolas Levrat, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues under the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In her letter, she raised the issue of senior Muslim Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers allegedly being excluded from official events during Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visits to West Bengal. This information came to light on Thursday.

In her letter, Moitra alleged that on three separate occasions during Amit Shah's visits to West Bengal in July and August, Muslim officers were either excluded from government meetings and events or instructed not to attend.

She specifically mentioned Siliguri Police Commissioner Waqar Raza, West Bengal Police Special Task Force (STF) Chief Javed Shamim, and senior IAS officer Khalil Ahmed.

According to the Trinamool MP, Waqar Raza was removed from the reception line at an event attended by the Home Minister, Javed Shamim was not invited to relevant programs, and Khalil Ahmed was asked to leave a meeting. Moitra claimed that officers belonging to other religions were allowed to attend these events. However, these allegations have not been independently verified yet.

Moitra described these incidents as a pattern of deliberate exclusion of officers. She stated that if such actions have occurred, it could impact the trust of minority communities in the police and security establishments. In her letter, she also referred to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The MP urged the Special Rapporteur to seek an explanation from the Government of India regarding the reasons for keeping the concerned officers away from the events and under whose authority such instructions were issued.

She also requested the preservation of CCTV footage, tour diaries, and other official documents related to Amit Shah's visits to West Bengal.

Professor Nicolas Levrat serves as the United Nations Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and has presented his report on minority rights to the Human Rights Council in 2026.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh