National Commission for Minorities has asked the West Bengal government to submit a report within 10 days on allegations that senior Muslim civil and police officers were excluded from official meetings and protocol arrangements during Home Minister Amit Shah’s visits to the state in July and August.
The commission’s deputy secretary Harish Kumar wrote to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Sept. 21, referring to a complaint filed by Trinamool Congress lawmaker Mahua Moitra on Sept. 18.
The complaint alleges “religious discrimination” against senior Muslim IAS and IPS officers during Shah’s visits, according to the commission’s letter.
Moitra, a Lok Sabha member from Krishnanagar, said on social media that the commission had taken up the matter with the state government and expressed hope that it would provide answers.
The National Commission for Minorities is a statutory body established under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, with a mandate that includes safeguarding the interests of minority communities.
Moitra has alleged that three senior Muslim officers – Siliguri Police Commissioner Syed Waqar Raza, West Bengal Special Task Force chief Jawed Shamim and Additional Chief Secretary of the Fire and Emergency Services Department Khalil Ahmed – were repeatedly left out of official engagements involving Shah.
The allegations relate to Shah’s visits to West Bengal on July 18-19 and Aug. 20-22.
According to Moitra, Raza was asked to leave a border-security review meeting in Siliguri on July 18 attended by senior police and administrative officials. She also alleged that his name and designation were absent from the official protocol for the visit and that he was not allowed to join the line of officials seeing off Shah.
Moitra said Shamim was also not permitted to attend the Siliguri meeting, with another officer representing the Special Task Force.
During Shah’s visit to Kolkata on July 19, Moitra alleged that Ahmed was asked to leave a meeting on law and order and disaster preparedness after arriving. She also said Shamim was again excluded from the meeting.
Moitra alleged that similar incidents occurred during Shah’s August visit. She said Raza was again kept out of a border-security meeting in Siliguri, while Shamim was not allowed to participate in an official exhibition related to India’s new criminal laws.
Moitra has argued that the repeated exclusion of the three officers could not be explained simply as protocol lapses because their respective positions were directly connected to the subjects under discussion.
She has also alleged that religion was the common factor among the officers who were excluded.
The allegations have not been independently established. A report by The Wire said the material submitted with Moitra’s complaints did not include statements from the officers or copies of instructions directing their exclusion, while the West Bengal chief secretary and police chief had not responded to questions seeking clarification at the time of publication.
Moitra has separately approached the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, asking for an explanation over the alleged exclusion and seeking preservation of records, including CCTV footage, tour diaries and protocol documents.
West Bengal Police has also registered a case linked to Moitra’s social media posts about the allegations, according to reports.
The NCM’s latest move means the West Bengal government has been asked to respond to the allegations before the commission considers the matter further.
Meanwhile, Maktoob, a media outlet that focuses on issues concerning religious minorities, has alleged that an FIR was registered against its X account over a social media post reporting the alleged exclusion of Muslim officers from Shah’s meetings.
West Bengal Police has also registered a case linked to Moitra’s social media posts about the allegations, according to reports.
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