The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) is preparing for a major protest in Bengal on 8 September, threatening to gherao the Bankura district magistrate’s office if the West Bengal chief secretary does not meet its representatives by 7 September.
The proposed agitation follows weeks of pressure over the death of Sheikh Mohammad Mafik, father of CJP volunteer Sheikh Abdul Hafiz, and what the group describes as police and administrative inaction.
CJP joint secretary Prem Akash Golu said the group had initially given the Bankura administration 10 days to act and subsequently extended the deadline after meeting the district magistrate. “The CJP never seeks confrontation,” Golu said, according to the organisation’s account, but warned that the party would proceed with the gherao if the chief secretary did not meet its representatives by 7 September.
The immediate issue, according to the CJP, is the alleged failure to arrest a man whom Hafiz says he identified from CCTV footage on 25 August. CJP leaders claimed that the man subsequently appeared publicly near Indas police station during Raksha Bandhan celebrations despite being identified in connection with the case.
Hafiz questioned the police response: “If an identified accused can move around publicly and still remains free, how can the common people expect justice from such administration?”
The party is demanding a school in Mafik’s name, an independent administrative inquiry headed by a retired high court judge, impartial legal action against all suspects and greater accountability from the administration.
For Hafiz, the school demand is particularly personal. He has repeatedly said he does not want financial compensation following his father’s death, but wants the government to build a high-quality school for children in the area. “My father is no more. What will I do with government compensation? I want the government to build a world-class school in my father’s name,” he had said earlier.
The dispute began with the CJP’s ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign, through which its volunteers inspect government schools and highlight poor infrastructure.
Hafiz (25) had returned to Bankura after participating in the CJP’s protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. He subsequently visited Karishunda Paschimpara Primary School in Indas to raise questions about its condition. According to his family, the situation escalated after he documented problems at the school and refused demands that he withdraw his social media posts and ‘apologise’ for his participation in the Delhi protest.
On 13 August, a group of men allegedly entered the family home and attacked Hafiz. His father intervened to protect him and was himself severely assaulted, according to the family. Mafik was taken for medical treatment and later shifted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, where he died on 15 August.
The family and the CJP have alleged that the attack was politically motivated and involved people associated with the BJP. The BJP has rejected the allegation.
West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said, “There is no BJP connection here. They are all criminals. Action will be taken according to law.” He also said those named in the FIR would be arrested.
The issue has drawn the CJP’s national and Bengal leadership into the dispute. Earlier, CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka travelled from Delhi to Bankura with senior party members Vijay Mallangi, Ankit Bhardwaj, Akash Prem and Sudhir Sangwan to meet Hafiz and his family on 17 August. Ranka gave the Bengal government 10 days to arrest those allegedly responsible and demanded an investigation into the conduct of police officers at Indas.
“We are giving the Bengal government 10 days. All the accused should be arrested and sent to jail within this period, and all necessary legal sections should be invoked against them,” Ranka said.
Hafiz later announced the 8 September protest with Golu and Bengal leaders Dedipya Gangopadhyay and Prakriti Sau. Lawyer Shamim Ahmed is providing legal assistance to Hafiz.