Between 8 and 12 April 2025, protests in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, against the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 turned into communal violence in Jangipur, Suti, Samserganj and Dhulian. Three people died, including a father and son killed in their home at Jafrabad, and hundreds of people fled to neighbouring Malda. The Calcutta High Court ordered central forces into the district, police arrested more than 300 people, and in December 2025 a Jangipur court sentenced 13 men to life imprisonment for the double murder.
Key takeaways
- Waqf Act protests in Murshidabad turned violent from 8 April 2025, peaking on 11 and 12 April; three people died.
- The Calcutta High Court sent in central forces on 12 April, and its own panel later said local police were "completely inactive and absent" at Dhulian.
- Mamata Banerjee blamed "outsiders", the BJP and a section of the BSF; the BJP, the Governor and the NCW blamed state failure.
- In December 2025 a Jangipur court gave 13 men life terms for the Jafrabad double murder.
Background: the Waqf (Amendment) Act
The amendment changed 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act, including allowing non-Muslims on waqf boards. Parliament cleared it on 4 April 2025, it received presidential assent on 5 April and took effect on 8 April. Scroll.
Murshidabad is a Muslim-majority district on the Bangladesh border. A state report to the High Court says protests began on 4 April across the Jangipur police district and turned violent from 8 April PTI via Tribune.
Timeline
Clash on NH-12 at Jangipur
On the day the Act took effect, a mob clashed with police in Jangipur, threw stones and set security force vehicles on fire Scroll. The district magistrate imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS, and the state home secretary suspended internet services in the Jangipur region until 11 April Sabrang.
Highway and rail blockades, firing at Suti
Protesters blocked NH-12 at Sajur More near Dhulian and set fire to a police jeep. Nearly 5,000 blocked rail tracks Scroll. A 21-year-old, Ijaz Momin, was shot at Sajur More in Suti and died the next evening PTI via Tribune. The HC-appointed panel says the "main attack" in Dhulian came that afternoon PTI via Tribune.
Father and son killed at Jafrabad
Haragobinda Das and his son Chandan Das were killed in their home at Jafrabad, Samserganj. Reports give the date as 11 April (police, at the chargesheet stage) or 12 April (the state's HC report and the court verdict), and the father's age as 72 or 74 PTI via Tribune PTI via Tribune.
High Court orders central forces
Two bidi workers, one a minor, were shot and injured in Dhulian PTI via Tribune. That evening a special bench ordered central armed police forces into the district Scroll.
SIT formed, internet back
An SIT was formed for the Jafrabad murders PTI via Deccan Herald. Internet returned to most of the district except Samserganj The Mooknayak.
Governor, NCW and NHRC visits
Governor C V Ananda Bose visited the Malda camp, despite the Chief Minister asking him to postpone, and then Jafrabad. NCW and NHRC teams also visited Tribune.
Chargesheet in the double murder
Police filed a chargesheet of about 900 pages naming 13 people before the Jangipur court, 55 days after the crime PTI via Tribune.
Life sentences
The fast-track court in Jangipur convicted 13 accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment PTI via Tribune.
Deaths, injuries and damage
Documented Three people died. The chargesheet says the Das father and son were dragged out and killed with an axe in front of their family PTI via Tribune.
How Ijaz Momin was shot is disputed. Deccan Herald reported he was wounded in police firing at Sajur More Deccan Herald, and Additional DGP Jawed Shamim said police fired four rounds PTI via Tribune. Claim · Mamata Banerjee The Chief Minister said BSF firing caused one death and ordered a probe into the BSF's role Scroll. No finding on the shooting was reported in the sources reviewed.
About 15 to 18 police personnel were injured, according to PTI and Deccan Herald reports PTI via Deccan Herald Deccan Herald. The HC panel recorded 113 houses badly affected in Betbona village, many set on fire, and a garments mall in Dhulian looted PTI via Tribune.
Families who fled to Malda
Many people from Dhulian crossed the Bhagirathi by boat to a school at Baishnabnagar, Malda. One woman said attackers burned houses and poisoned drinking water tanks; the Jangipur SP promised security for people to return Deccan Herald.
District officials said about 500 families left, and 200 had returned by 16 April. Local people said the true figure was at least 1,000 The Mooknayak. Claim · Suvendu Adhikari The BJP leader said more than 400 people had sheltered at Par Lalpur High School Deccan Herald. The state told the High Court on 17 April that some families had already returned PTI via Deccan Herald.
What the courts ordered
The 12 April order came from a special bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Raja Basu Chowdhury on a petition by Suvendu Adhikari. The state called the plea "politically motivated" and said six BSF companies were already deployed. The bench found the state's measures inadequate and said earlier deployment could have de-escalated matters Scroll.
Constitutional courts cannot be a mute spectator and embroil itself in technical defences when the safety and security of the people are at danger.
Calcutta High Court, 12 April 2025 (Bar and Bench via Scroll)
On 17 April the court kept central forces in the district and set up a three-member panel from the NHRC, the State Human Rights Commission and the State Legal Services Authority to oversee rehabilitation. Adhikari had asked for an NIA probe; the state's counsel said requests for the NIA, CBI and full authority to central forces were "not given" Punjab Kesari.
In the Supreme Court, on 21 April a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh objected to unverified averments in one plea for a court-monitored probe and let the petitioner withdraw it with liberty to file afresh LiveLaw.
Fact-finding reports
- High Court panel (May 2025): Said that during the 11 April attack in Dhulian "local police were completely inactive and absent" and named a local councillor as directing the attacks PTI via Tribune. PTI identified him as Trinamool leader Mehboob Alam, former chairman of Dhuliyan Municipality PTI via Tribune. No response from him or the TMC was found in the sources reviewed.
- NCW (25 April 2025): Its inquiry committee said it "observed a complete breakdown of administrative machinery and governance in Murshidabad district", called the state "a mute spectator" and said Malda camps lacked basic amenities Deccan Herald.
- Governor's report to the Home Ministry (May 2025): Bose wrote of a "twin spectre of radicalisation and militancy", called the riots "premeditated" and suggested a commission of inquiry. An official said he had not proposed President's rule PTI via Tribune. Banerjee said she had "no information" about the report Scroll.
- NHRC: Took suo motu cognisance and sent a team to Malda Tribune. Its findings were not found in published reporting.
Who said what
State government and TMC
Banerjee appealed for calm and said the law was made by the Centre: "This law will not be implemented in our state. So what is the riot about?" PTI via Tribune Claim · Mamata Banerjee She called the riots pre-planned, blamed BJP-linked outsiders and a section of the BSF, and asked: "Is it not the role of the BSF to guard the border?" The BSF and the Home Ministry did not respond Scroll. She later said "some outsiders orchestrated it" PTI via Deccan Herald.
BJP and the Centre
Claim · BJP Suvendu Adhikari called it a "premeditated act of violence" and sought an NIA probe PTI via Tribune; in court he alleged Bangladeshi elements were involved Punjab Kesari. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged a "nexus between the TMC and the rioters" Tribune. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju accused Banerjee of inciting violence Tribune.
No evidence Media reports citing unnamed sources said an initial Home Ministry inquiry pointed to Bangladeshi miscreants. Bangladesh's interim government denied any involvement, and India's foreign ministry rejected Dhaka's comments on the violence as "unwarranted" ANI via Tribune. No court, chargesheet or published official finding reviewed here has established cross-border involvement. For the wider dispute over Bangladeshi nationals in Bengal, see our explainer.
The CPI(M) accused both parties of "competitive communalism" PTI via Tribune.
Arrests over time
People arrested, by date reported
Police reported over 100 FIRs and 276 arrests by 20 April PTI via India TV. By June, PTI reported over 300 arrests in over 60 FIRs PTI via Tribune. FIR counts thus range from over 60 to over 100.
Outcome
- Deaths: Three: Haragobinda Das, Chandan Das and Ijaz Momin.
- Verdict: On 23 December 2025 the Jangipur fast-track court gave 13 men life terms for murder, plus concurrent terms for dacoity, trespass and rioting. Special public prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee called it West Bengal's first mob lynching conviction PTI via Tribune. Police said the crime arose from personal enmity, not politics, a position repeated in the chargesheet National Herald.
- Compensation: Banerjee announced Rs 10 lakh for each of the three families Scroll. The Das family declined it, saying "Had the police reached in time, probably they would have survived" The Mooknayak. The court ordered Rs 15 lakh for the family.
What is still pending
The prosecution had sought the death penalty, and the state was to decide on an appeal to the High Court; no appeal was found in reporting reviewed. The Das family's plea for a CBI probe was still under consideration in December 2025 Scroll. No outcome was found for the other FIRs, Ijaz Momin's death or the panel's allegations against the councillor.
Questions people ask
How many people died in the Murshidabad violence?
Three: Haragobinda Das and Chandan Das at Jafrabad, and Ijaz Momin at Suti.
Who was convicted for the Jafrabad father and son murder?
Thirteen men, sentenced to life imprisonment by a Jangipur fast-track court on 23 December 2025.
Were Bangladeshis involved in the Murshidabad violence?
BJP leaders and unnamed official sources alleged it; Bangladesh denied it. No court or published official finding has established it.
Was an NIA probe ordered?
No. Suvendu Adhikari sought one; the High Court instead kept central forces and set up a rehabilitation panel.
Sources
- PTI via Tribune: 3 killed in Waqf-related violence in Murshidabad; court orders deployment of Central forces, 12 Apr 2025
- Scroll: Calcutta HC orders CAPF to be deployed in Murshidabad after anti-Waqf Act protests leave 3 dead, 13 Apr 2025
- Sabrang: 22 arrested, internet suspended as Murshidabad recovers, 11 Apr 2025
- Deccan Herald: No fresh escalation but Murshidabad remains tense, 13 Apr 2025
- Deccan Herald: BJP claims as Waqf Act protests turn violent in Murshidabad, 13 Apr 2025
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Two brothers arrested for murdering father-son duo, 15 Apr 2025
- Tribune: Rijiju blames Mamata for violence as pleas seek court-monitored probe, 16 Apr 2025
- Scroll: Murshidabad violence pre-planned, BSF involved, claims Mamata Banerjee, 16 Apr 2025
- The Mooknayak: Net services restored in several places, prohibitory orders continue, 16 Apr 2025
- The Mooknayak: Family of father, son killed declines compensation, 17 Apr 2025
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Calcutta HC reserves order on extending CAPF stay, 17 Apr 2025
- Punjab Kesari: Central forces to stay in Murshidabad as Calcutta HC monitors victim aid, 17 Apr 2025
- ANI via Tribune: India slams Bangladesh's comments on West Bengal situation, 18 Apr 2025
- Tribune: Ignoring Chief Minister's request, Governor meets riot victims, 19 Apr 2025
- Tribune: Bengal Guv meets family members of Murshidabad riots' victims, 20 Apr 2025
- PTI via India TV: Prime accused held for killing father and son, 20 Apr 2025
- PTI via Tribune: Murshidabad riots scripted for political gains, says CPM, 21 Apr 2025
- LiveLaw: Supreme Court rebukes petitioner over averments, allows fresh plea, 21 Apr 2025
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Violence orchestrated by outsiders, says Mamata, 22 Apr 2025
- Deccan Herald: NCW report says complete breakdown of governance in Murshidabad, 25 Apr 2025
- PTI via Tribune: Governor files report to MHA, says radicalisation posing challenge, May 2025
- Scroll: Stability has returned to Murshidabad, says Mamata Banerjee, May 2025
- PTI via Tribune: High Court-appointed panel says police were inactive at some places, May 2025
- PTI via Tribune: Charge sheet filed against 13 in father-son murder case, 7 Jun 2025
- PTI via Tribune: Father, son killed in front of family, alleges charge sheet, 7 Jun 2025
- PTI via Tribune: 13 get life term for lynching of man, son in Murshidabad, 23 Dec 2025
- National Herald: Murshidabad court awards life term to 13 for Samsherganj double murder, 23 Dec 2025
- Scroll: 13 convicted for murder of father, son during protest against Waqf Act, Dec 2025