Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the state government would give ₹10 lakh each to the next of kin of three persons who had died in the communal violence in Murshidabad district.

"The state government would give ₹10 lakh each to the next of kin of all three victims in Murshidabad. I will hand over the cheques to the families when I visit Murshidabad," the chief minister said over the phone while she was addressing a delegation of Group C and Group D employees of state-aided schools who had lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order.

Mamata had earlier announced that she would visit Murshidabad in May.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari hands over cheques to the family members of Haragobinda Das and Chandan Das in Samserganj on Saturday. Picture by Samim Aktar

Sources in the administration said ahead of the chief minister's visit, the chiefs of both Murshidabad and Jangipur police districts were transferred to instil confidence among the residents of trouble-torn Samserganj.

“A section of the residents was unhappy with the police and accused the cops of not acting properly during the violence. By removing the superintendents of police, the administration sent a message before the chief minister's visit,” said an official.

The leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, visited the trouble-torn areas of Samserganj on Saturday after Calcutta High Court had permitted him to go to the disturbed areas.

Adhikari handed over cheques for ₹10 lakh each to the families of Haragobinda Das and Chandan Das, the father-son duo who had been hacked to death during the violence.

The BJP leader said families of the victims had rejected the compensation offered by the government and accepted the cheques given by him.

“I am obliged that the families of the victims refused to accept compensation offered by the chief minister and accepted the cheques from the leader of the Opposition,” he said.

Adhikari, who reached Dhulian Ganga station by a special saloon car around 12 noon, said the survivors of the violence told him that they were in a state of panic and could not trust the state police anymore.

“They demanded a BSF camp and an NIA probe into the violence.... We have moved to the court demanding a BSF camp in the area and an NIA probe into the violence,” said Adhikari.

He also said people were attacked a stone's throw from the police station, but the law enforcers had done nothing to save a particular community.

“It is a failure of the police, and the police minister (Mamata) should resign immediately. Moreover, the police did not arrest the actual culprits, who are roaming freely in the area,” said Adhikari.