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Mahua Moitra moves UN over alleged exclusion of Muslim officers in Bengal
Mahua Moitra has asked the UN Special Rapporteur to examine her claim that three Muslim officers were excluded during Amit Shah's West Bengal visits. She says the alleged pattern points to religious discrimination and warrants preservation of official records.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra has approached the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, alleging that senior Muslim IAS and IPS officers in West Bengal were excluded from official events during Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visits to the state because of their religion. In a letter to Prof Nicolas Levrat at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, she said the officers were either asked to leave or told not to attend events during Shah's visits in July and August.
Moitra alleged that three senior officers were excluded on three occasions, while officers of other faiths were allowed to take part. She has urged the UN Special Rapporteur to seek an explanation from the Government of India and to ensure that records linked to Shah's visits are preserved. PTI could not independently verify the allegations made by Moitra.
In her letter, Moitra named Siliguri Police Commissioner Waquar Raza, West Bengal Police Special Task Force chief Jawed Shamim and senior IAS officer Khalil Ahmed. She said the three were treated differently from their colleagues at official events. “The one factor these three officers share, and the one factor that sets them apart from the colleagues who were permitted to remain, is their religion,” Moitra said in the letter.
She described the alleged incidents as a pattern of “deliberate exclusion” and said such conduct could affect the confidence and security of minority communities. Moitra asked the Special Rapporteur to seek details from the Government of India on the reasons for the alleged exclusion and the authority under which it was done. She also sought preservation of CCTV footage, tour diaries and other records related to Shah's visits.
Moitra had tweeted about the issue a few days ago, after which a police complaint was lodged against her and she was summoned to Diamond Harbour Police Station. In her complaint to the UN Special Rapporteur, she also cited provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The matter centres on her allegation that three senior Muslim officers were kept out of official engagements during Amit Shah's visits to West Bengal.