TMC MP moves UN over exclusion of Muslim officers during Amit Shah’s West Bengal visits
Mahua Moitra seeks explanation from Indian govt over discriminatory treatment
New Delhi : Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Member of the Indian Parliament Mahua Moitra has filed an urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Prof. Nicolas Levrat, raising the issue of systematic exclusion of senior Muslim officers from official events attended by Indian Home Minister Amit Shah during his visits to West Bengal in July and August 2026.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a detailed letter, Moitra said that senior Muslim IAS and IPS officers were specifically asked to leave or instructed not to attend high-level security and administrative meetings, while their counterparts of other faiths were allowed to participate. She said that the conduct violated international human rights law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as the Indian Constitution.
Citing specific incidents, Moitra’s complaint details a pattern of exclusion during Amit Shah’s two official visits to the state. On July 18, during a border security review meeting in Siliguri chaired by the Home Minister, Siliguri Police Commissioner Syed Waquar Raza was asked to leave the meeting without any reason given. Moitra aid his place in the subsequent ceremonial protocol arrangements was taken by Sukesh Kumar Jain. She further said that Jawed Shamim, Director General of Police and head of the West Bengal Special Task Force (STF), was asked not to attend the review, despite other specialized wings being represented by their head. The STF was instead represented by his subordinate, Gaurav Sharma.
The letter further states that on July 19, during a law and order and disaster preparedness meeting in Kolkata, Khalil Ahmed, Additional Chief Secretary of the Fire and Emergency Services Department, was asked to leave after arriving at the venue. She said the pattern recurred during Amit Shah’s second visit to Siliguri on August 20, when Raza was again excluded from the border security review and protocol arrangements, while Shamim was barred from participating in an exhibition related to the new criminal laws.
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Moitra’s letter describes the incidents as a pattern of deliberate exclusion. She argued that the common factor among the three officers was their Muslim identity and that they were treated differently from colleagues who were permitted to participate. She also argued that the officers held positions directly relevant to the meetings, including border security, disaster preparedness and specialised policing.
The TMC MP further argued that the exclusion of these senior officers could affect the functioning of the state’s security and administrative machinery, particularly in a state where Muslims constitute 27.01 percent of the population, forming a majority in several districts. She argued that perceived religious discrimination within the security establishment could undermine minority confidence in law-enforcement agencies and increase concerns about profiling and discriminatory treatment.
Moitra also cited various provisions of the Indian Constitution in support of her complaint, arguing that the conduct was unbecoming of the constitutional and official role of the Home Minister.
She urged the UN Special Rapporteur to transmit a communication to the India government seeking an explanation for the exclusions and the authority under which they were carried out. She also called for immediate measures to prevent religious discrimination in official functions and sought preservation of CCTV footage, tour diaries and other records related to the Amit Shah’s visits for possible investigation.
