Charred remains of vehicles after violence erupted on Apr 11 during a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act, in Murshidabad on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Seventeen companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were deployed in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Sunday (April 13, 2025) following violent protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act that claimed three lives on Saturday. Over 150 people were arrested and one person who sustained bullet injury was admitted to a State-run health facility, the police said.

Director-General of Police, West Bengal, Rajeev Kumar held meetings with senior police officials in Murshidabad. He said the situation was “very much under control”. Jangipur Superintendent of Police Ananda Roy appealed to people to not believe in rumours and approach the police in case they need any clarifications. The SP said 155 persons have been arrested so far in connection with the violence.

Meanwhile, 23 high-ranking officers from the State police and other agencies have been deployed in the violence-affected district. Karni Singh Shekhawat, Inspector-General of Police, Border Security Force, was among those present in the district. Nine companies of the BSF have been moved to the strife-torn areas.

Eighteen police personnel were also injured in the violence that erupted in the district on April 12.

Meanwhile, Isha Khan Chowdhury, Congress MP from Malda Dakshin Lok Sabha constituency under which the violence-affected areas of Murshidabad district fall, said that he and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had called for an all-party meeting on the violence.

Almost the entire leadership of the State BJP unit hit the streets in Kolkata to protest against the violence. State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that the violence was a “conspiracy of radical outfits such as the Population Front of India [PFI] and the Students Islamic Movement of India [SIMI]”. BJP MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging the Centre to declare select bordering districts of West Bengal as “disturbed areas”.

A section of BJP leaders also claimed that hundreds of Hindus from Dhulian in Murshidabad have been forced to take shelter across the river at Baishnabnagar in neighbouring Malda district. “I urge the Central paramilitary forces deployed in the district, the State police and the district administration to ensure the safe return of these displaced Hindus and protect their lives,” Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said in a social media post.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress leadership accused the BJP of using fake photographs to inflame communal tensions in Murshidabad. Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh gave specific examples and pointed out that photographs of violence at other places in the country have been used by BJP leaders on social media.

“The BJP is spreading disinformation and attributing some photos to the Murshidabad unrest, whereas the reality is far from it. For instance, they are using photos from anti-CAA protests in Lucknow, as those of Murshidabad. Another photo is from Jalandhar, where a house was on fire,” Mr. Ghosh said. The Trinamool leader also alleged that BJP leaders like Sukanta Majumdar and Arjun Singh were threatening violence.

“The Bengal government is clear that no one will be allowed to take law into their hands and violence will be met with strict punishment, irrespective of the community or religious identity of the perpetrators,” Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose said.