West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that stability has returned to Murshidabad following the violence that took place in the district during protests against the Waqf Act in April, PTI reported.

“I could have gone to Murshidabad earlier, but if there is no peace and stability there, we should not go and disturb,” the Trinamool Congress chief was quoted as saying by PTI before she left for a two-day visit to the region. “Stability has returned to Murshidabad long back. Today, I am going there.”

The chief minister added that she would visit Dhuliyan town and provide compensation to persons whose houses and shops were damaged during the violence in April.

Later in the day, Banerjee added: “I won’t blame a particular community. Those who want to take political advantage are the ones who would run first after a riot breaks out. They are the enemies of Bengal. Everyone is my friend, but those who instigate riots, I don’t consider them as my friends.”

Violence broke out in Murshidabad on April 11 and 12 during protests against amendments to the Act passed by Parliament on April 4. Three persons, including 72-year-old Harogobind Das and his 40-year-old son Chandan Das, were killed in the violence.

The third fatality was that of a man named Ijaz Momin, who was allegedly shot dead by the police in the Suti town in Murshidabad.

The rioting led hundreds of Hindus, who are a minority in Murshidabad district, to flee to neighbouring Malda.

A waqf is an endowment under Islamic law dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property.

The Waqf Amendment Act curbs the authority of waqf boards and allows greater government control over them. Critics allege that the amended law violates the right to equality and the freedom to manage religious affairs.

On Monday, Banerjee also told reporters that she was not aware of the report submitted by Governor CV Ananda Bose to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on the violence in the district, PTI reported.

“I have no information about Bose’s report to the MHA,” the chief minister said. “The governor’s health is not okay. Let us pray to god for his speedy recovery.”

Bose is said to have sent a report warning about the dual threat of “radicalisation and militancy” in the state, The Telegraph reported, quoting unidentified officials in the state secretariat.

The governor proposed steps such as setting up an inquiry commission on the state’s role and enacting laws to let the Union government assume control over law and order, the officials added.

Riot victims’ family alleges police intimidation

Meanwhile, the family of Chandan and Hargobind Das on Sunday claimed that the state police forcibly broke into the Salt Lake home of a Bharatiya Janata Party worker in Kolkata, where they had been staying for a week, The Indian Express reported.

In a letter to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and the governor, Parul Das, Hargobind Das’ wife and Pinki Das, Chandan Das’ wife, requested protection and deployment of central forces for their safety.

The women said that they were “left shaken and traumatised by the brazen conduct of the officers involved”, who “harassed and attempted to intimidate us in clear abuse of their authority,” The Hindu reported.

The police denied the allegation, claiming that they had visited the Salt Lake residence in response to a written complaint from a relative claiming that the family had been abducted, The Indian Express reported.

The family was in Kolkata to file a petition before the High Court, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation investigation into the murders, The Hindu reported.

Also read: Bengal violence: Mamata Banerjee cannot evade responsibility