Three people were arrested on Sunday after the father of a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) volunteer died from injuries sustained in an assault in West Bengal’s Bankura district, The Hindu reported.
The CJP had earlier alleged that Janab Mafik, the father of party volunteer Shaik Abdul Hafeez, was attacked by Bharatiya Janata Party workers on Thursday and died two days later.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari denied any BJP involvement, saying police had registered a first information report against five people in connection with the case.
“The two others will also be arrested,” Adhikari was quoted as saying. “There is no BJP connection here. They are all criminals. Action will be taken according to law.”
Hafeez said in a video posted on social media on Thursday that he had visited a primary school in Karisunda to conduct a survey as part of the CJP’s nationwide campaign to improve government schools in rural areas.
According to Hafeez, BJP workers later came to his home and asked him to record an apology for drawing attention to the school’s condition. They allegedly wanted him to say that he had carried out the survey under “external influence”, the CJP said.
Hafeez said that after he refused, the men attacked him and members of his family, causing a head injury to his father.
Ratna Singh, the CJP’s head of legal affairs, told Scroll on Sunday that Mafik died from his injuries on Saturday night. She also alleged that police had initially refused to register a complaint.
A local police official, however, told Scroll on Sunday morning that authorities had not received a complaint concerning Mafik’s death.
CJP alleges threat of violence
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said on Sunday that representatives of the campaign would travel to West Bengal to “deliver justice to Abdul’s family”.
“An appeal to all cockroaches of Bengal to reach Indas police station, Bankura district,” Ranka said in a social media post.
In a later post, Ranka said he had received several calls “from well-wishers, activists, government insiders, informing that the BJP is planning violence” during his visit.
“Let the world document that when the youth of this country was fighting for education and better schools, BJP was responding with violence,” Ranka said.
He said he had received more than 15 such calls since the visit was announced and challenged the BJP to carry out any planned violence publicly.
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