Dipke: “We will not be silenced. We will not be intimidated. We will keep fighting for better schools.“
On 16 August 2026, Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke issued a blistering statement that has sent shockwaves across the country: 25-year-old Shaik Abdul Hafeez (Abdul Hafiz) from Karisunda village in Bankura district, West Bengal simply documented the broken toilets, missing teachers and crumbling infrastructure of the government primary school he once attended.
Two days later, his father was dead. According to CJP, on or around 13 August, after Abdul filmed the school’s dismal condition as part of the “School Thik Karo” campaign, a group of men allegedly linked to the BJP stormed the family’s home that same evening. They demanded he record an apology video admitting “external influence.” When he refused, they attacked. Abdul suffered a severe neck injury. His father, Janab Mafik, sustained critical blunt-force trauma to the head. Hafeez recorded a hospital video exposing the assault.
Further intimidation followed – claims of 100–150 people gheraoing the house. On 15 August, Mafik died of his injuries.
CJP alleges police initially refused to register an FIR or open a proper medico-legal case and failed to protect the family. The party is demanding immediate arrests, an impartial investigation and zero political cover.
Dipke declared: CJP stands firmly with Abdul. A team will travel to West Bengal. “We will not be silenced. We will not be intimidated.” Co-convener Ashutosh Ranka has announced that a National Working Committee delegation, including himself, Vijay Mallangi and others, will reach Indas police station area in Bankura tomorrow, 17 August, to demand justice. Bengal supporters have been urged to gather there.
Police have confirmed a death occurred. Bankura SP V.G. Satish Pasumarthi stated that suspects have been detained. Officers reportedly reached the scene the night of the alleged attack and helped transport the injured to hospital. Formal complaint and further action were still awaited in some early reports.
BJP Bengal spokesperson Keya Ghosh responded by calling the school campaign an attempt to malign the government, while stating that if any workers are named in a police complaint and found involved, strict action will be taken.
Multiple national outlets, Scroll, ThePrint, Times of India, Deccan Chronicle, Free Press Journal and others, are reporting the claims, the confirmed death and the police position.No independent judicial finding has yet verified the attackers’ political affiliation or the full sequence of events.
The matter is in the earliest investigative stage. But the central question will not wait: Why should documenting a broken government school cost a man his life? Justice for Abdul’s father cannot depend on political camps. It must depend on the law. CJP says it will not back off. The country is watching.
Dipke says: “Abdul went to inspect the govt school in Bengal where he once studied. He lost his father after they were attacked by goons (allegedly from BJP) for speaking up about the poor condition of govt schools. It makes my blood boil that people are being murdered simply for demanding better schools.
CJP stands firmly with Abdul and his family. We demand the immediate arrest of those responsible for his father’s death. A CJP team will visit West Bengal and ensure that Abdul and his family get justice.
And to the hatemongers who think they can silence us through violence: we are not going to back off. Attack our members, threaten us, try to intimidate us, we will only fight harder.
We will not be silenced. We will not be intimidated. We will keep fighting for better schools.“
JANPATH NEWS NETWORK (JNN)
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