The victim’s son and CJP volunteer Abdul Hafiz demanded the government to build a world class school on his father Janab Malik’s name in the locality.
Five more people were also arrested on Monday (August 17, 2026) in connection with the death of the father of a 25-year-old Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) activist after he was brutally assaulted, allegedly by local BJP workers, in West Bengal’s Bankura on Thursday (August 13, 2026).
With this, the total number of arrests rose to eight in this case. Meanwhile, a CJP delegation, including spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, along with the easter zone coordinator of the party, Ankit Bharadwaj, south zone leader Vijay Mallangi, and another core member, Sudhur Sangwan, visited activist Abdul Hafiz’s residence on Monday (August 17, 2026) morning.
Police officials said that the incident took place in Bankura’s Indus area after Mr. Hafiz went to inspect a local government school as part of CJP’s ongoing ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign. Later, at night, a few people launched an attack on him when his father came to save him. As Mr. Hafiz managed to escape and lock himself inside the house, the goons assaulted his father Janab Mafik causing grievous injuries. He passed away in the hospital on Saturday (August 15, 2026).
An FIR was lodged against five people at Indus Police Station on Saturday (August 15, 2026). The police arrested eight people after thorough investigation.
The CJP officials blamed the assault on the BJP. They alleged that the local BJP MLA from Indus Nirmal Dhara’s goons had been threatening Mr. Hafiz since he returned from CJP’s 36-day-long protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
However, the West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday (August 16, 2026) dismissed the allegations, saying that the accused are criminals and the government will take necessary actions against them.
“They said I am a Pakistani terrorist. They snatched away my phone. If we could recover the phone, I can provide more evidence and more names. They also put us at gunpoint. They attacked me outside the home; my father came to save me. I went inside and locked the room, but my father was outside. They launched a brutal attack on him. They tried to hack me to death. I am living the life that my father donated to me now,” said Mr. Hafiz after meeting the CJP leaders today.
He demanded that the government establish a world-class school in his father’s name in the village to mitigate the sufferings of the government school students in the area.
“We are doing it for the country, for our village. They cannot stop us in this way. We will take a breath only after the education system is fixed,” he said.
Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke spoke to him over a video call on Monday (August 17, 2026) and said that they will make sure that Mr. Hafiz’s father gets justice.
“We told him that we will demand compensation. But Abdul refused. He only wants a school in his father’s name. Can you imagine this mindset? This is the youth of our country,” said the CJP spokesperson, Mr. Ranka, after visiting Mr. Hafiz’s family.
After visiting Mr. Hafiz, CJP made four demands of the West Bengal government. They demanded that the government arrest all the 10 unidentified persons in the FIR in next 10 days and send them to jail.
“It is assumed that these goons got some protection from the Indus police station. There should be an independent investigation by a judicial committee to probe the roles of the staff from the entire police station during the entire episode,” said Mr. Ranka.
He also asked the government to arrange special police security protection for Mr. Hafiz’s family.
He further added that at least 8,000 schools in Bengal, including around 200 in Bankura itself, have been closed.
“We only asked the government to fix these schools and the education system. Abdul lives in a village. He took trains and rode on trucks to attend our rally in Delhi. Imagine how his father supported him in taking part in something good. But the government is not listening to them. They are sending goons instead. This is not acceptable,” said Mr. Ranka.
He said that the CJP will not be scared of this hooliganism. The movement will take an even larger shape, as much as the government tries to stop them, he added.
The former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also called Mr. Hafiz on Monday (August 17, 2026) to extend her support to the family. She said that the Trinamool Congress will stand by his family in any situation. Delegates of the Students’ Federation of India including Debanjan Dey and Satarup Ghosh also visited Mr. Hafiz at his residence on Monday (August 17, 2026).