Murshidabad riots: Arrests go up to 150, BJP MP seeks AFSPA in Bengal

Twelve more people have been arrested in connection with the violent protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, where three people have died. These fresh arrests take the total number of arrested people to 150.

According to police, no new incident of violence was reported from anywhere in the Muslim-majority district, with security forces keeping a close vigil.

“The situation in Suti, Dhulian, Samserganj, and Jangipur areas of the district is peaceful. Raids continued overnight, and 12 more people were arrested. With these, 150 people have been arrested so far,” a senior police officer told news agency PTI on Sunday (April 13).

Internet suspended

Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been imposed in the violence-hit areas, and the internet has been suspended, he said. Calcutta High Court on Saturday ordered the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in Murshidabad district.

Also read: Outrage against Yusuf Pathan for 'good chai' post in aftermath of Bengal violence

“An investigation into the violence is underway and more arrests are likely,” the officer said. Security forces are checking vehicles on the main roads, and patrolling the sensitive pockets, added the police officer.

BJP alleges religious persecution of Hindus

The BJP on Sunday continued to blame the state government for the violence and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari declared in an X post that “Bengal is burning” and its “social fabric is torn”.

He claimed that more than 400 Hindus from Dhulian, “driven by fear of religiously driven bigots”, were “forced to flee across the river [likely Bhagirathi]” and take shelter at a high school in Malda district.

“Religious persecution in Bengal is real,” he added. “Appeasement politics of TMC has emboldened radical elements. Hindus are being hunted, our people are running for their lives in their own land! Shame on the State Govt for allowing this breakdown of law & order,” he went on.

Finally, Adhikari urged the CAPF, the state police and the district administration to ensure the “safe return of these displaced Hindus” and protect their lives from “this jihadist terror”.

MP writes to Amit Shah seeking AFSPA

BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from the state, Jyotirmay Singh Mahato, has shot off a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting that Murshidabad and the other affected border districts of the state, including Malda, Nadia, and South 24-Parganas, be declared as “disturbed areas” under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) due to the attacks on Hindus.

He claimed that over 86 Hindu homes and shops were looted and destroyed in Murshidabad, and civilians were killed. “In Murshidabad district alone, recent weeks have seen the looting and destruction of over 86 Hindu shops and homes, murder of innocent civilians like Hargobindo Das and his son Chandan Das, and targeted economic sabotage such as the burning of betel leaf plantations in Jhaubona village. These incidents are not isolated. Similar unrest has unfolded in Malda, Nadia, and South 24 Parganas, where repeated communal riots, often aligned with TMC’s appeasement politics, have left the Hindu population vulnerable and voiceless,” the letter reads, according to news agency ANI.

In his letter, the MP compared the current situation to the 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, saying that Bengali Hindus are now facing fear, violence, and neglect from the government, “I must draw your attention to a haunting resemblance. The fear, isolation, and targeted violence that Bengali Hindus in these districts are facing today echoes the Kashmiri Pandit exodus of 1990. The tragic silence of the administration, deliberate targeting of a religious community, and propaganda-driven unrest are all too familiar,” he claimed.

Also read: Waqf Act row: 3 dead in Murshidabad violence; HC orders deployment of central forces

Violence and deaths

Several vehicles, including police vans, were set on fire, stones were hurled at security forces, and roads were blocked as violence rocked various parts of the state, particularly Murshidabad, during protests over the new legislation on Friday. Some flare-ups were also reported on Saturday.

Amid the violence, the bodies of Harogobindo Das and his son Chandan Das were found with multiple stab wounds at their home in Jafrabad in Samserganj on Saturday. A 21-year-old man, identified as Ijaz Momin, died on Saturday after receiving bullet wounds during clashes at Sajur More in Suti on Friday, said police.

At least 18 policemen were injured in the violence on Friday. DGP Rajeev Kumar, who reached Samserganj on Saturday night, held a meeting with senior officers and took stock of the situation.

(With agency inputs)