Ram Navami processions on 30 and 31 March 2023 were followed by communal clashes, arson and stone-throwing in Bihar Sharif and Sasaram in Bihar and in Shibpur (Howrah) and Rishra (Hooghly) in West Bengal. A teenager was shot dead in Bihar Sharif, the Madrasa Azizia library was burnt, and hundreds were arrested across the two states. The Calcutta High Court sent the Bengal cases to the NIA, the Supreme Court declined to interfere, and the NIA filed chargesheets in 2026.
Key takeaways
- Clashes followed Ram Navami processions in Shibpur, Howrah, and in Bihar Sharif and Sasaram, Bihar, on 30 and 31 March 2023, and in Rishra, Hooghly, on 2 April.
- In Bihar Sharif the century-old Madrasa Azizia and its library of about 4,500 books were burnt on 31 March, and a 16-year-old boy was shot dead on 1 April.
- Amit Shah cancelled a Sasaram event and the BJP blamed the Nitish Kumar government. Nitish Kumar called the violence "not natural"; Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP and allied groups.
- On 27 April 2023 the High Court ordered an NIA probe into the Bengal violence. The Supreme Court refused a stay in May and dismissed the state's appeal on 24 July 2023.
- The NIA filed a chargesheet in the Howrah case in June 2026 and in the Hooghly case in September 2026, naming a Trinamool councillor as the alleged mastermind.
Background
Ram Navami fell on 30 March 2023, during Ramzan. Clashes during processions were reported that week in several states. Al Jazeera, citing AFP, reported violence in at least 13 towns and cities, including Vadodara in Gujarat and Aurangabad in Maharashtra Al Jazeera. Scroll reported that the trigger in most places was similar: loud music or slogans as processions passed mosques Scroll. The worst violence was in Bihar and West Bengal.
What happened in Bihar
Sasaram
In Sasaram, the Rohtas district headquarters, clashes first broke out during a procession on the evening of 30 March and resumed the next morning, with both sides throwing stones, India Today reported Scroll. ETV Bharat reported that a pandal was set on fire after the procession on Thursday and that tension rose from there ETV Bharat. The sub-divisional magistrate said shops and vehicles were torched or vandalised in Shahajalal Pir, Sona Patti, Qadir Ganj and Navratna Pir, and that two police personnel were among the injured. An additional district magistrate said at least a dozen people were hurt and no firing took place ETV Bharat.
By 2 April six people had been injured in an explosion inside a house in Sasaram where, police said, two men were allegedly making a bomb. Bihar police said that at first glance the blast did not appear linked to the unrest Al Jazeera.
Bihar Sharif and the Madrasa Azizia
In Bihar Sharif, in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home district of Nalanda, a clash near the Gagan Diwan area turned into stone-throwing from both sides and at least a dozen vehicles were burnt, ETV Bharat reported ETV Bharat. PTI reported 11 people hurt on 31 March, three with bullet injuries Scroll.
That evening, the Madrasa Azizia in the Murarpur neighbourhood was set on fire. Claim · Residents Residents told Al Jazeera a crowd of about 1,000 men with sticks and petrol bombs entered the school. The principal, Mohammad Shakir Qasmi, said copies of the Quran, Hadith texts and handwritten books more than 100 years old were lost. He and a nearby mosque's imam alleged police arrived hours late although the Laheri police station is about 500 metres away Al Jazeera. The Wire put the library at as many as 4,500 books, most if not all destroyed The Wire. Al Jazeera's sources put the collection at nearly 5,000. The madrasa was founded in the 1890s by the philanthropist Bibi Soghra Siasat. The Telegraph, cited by Scroll, reported that shops, homes and religious and educational buildings of both communities were damaged in the town Scroll.
Fresh incidents broke out at two or three places on the night of 1 April, the Nalanda district magistrate said Scroll. A 16-year-old boy died when two groups exchanged fire; the Indian Express reported he had gone out to buy vegetables. Two other men were injured. Nitish Kumar announced Rs 5 lakh for the family, The Wire reported The Wire.
Prohibitory orders and internet
Gatherings of four or more were banned under Section 144 of the CrPC in both towns Scroll, and mobile internet was cut in parts of Bihar Al Jazeera. The Centre sent additional paramilitary forces at the Bihar government's request PTI via Business Standard.
Bihar: Amit Shah's visit and the political row
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was due in Sasaram on 2 April for an event marking Emperor Ashoka's birth anniversary. He cancelled it. Bihar BJP chief Samrat Choudhary blamed the state government, and about 30 BJP leaders told Governor Rajendra Arlekar the cancellation showed "extreme incompetence and failure of the administration" Scroll. Claim · BJP The BJP said prohibitory orders had been imposed in Sasaram to stop the event. The Wire quoted the Rohtas district magistrate as saying neither he nor the SDO had issued a Section 144 order The Wire, while PTI reported such orders were in force PTI and an ADM told ETV Bharat on 31 March that Section 144 had been clamped in the affected area ETV Bharat.
Speaking in Hisua, Nawada, on 2 April, Shah blamed the "appeasement" of the Nitish Kumar government and said that with a full BJP majority in Bihar rioters would be hung upside down. RJD leader Shivanand Tiwary called it "the language of a street goon" The Wire.
Government's position Nitish Kumar said, "I don't know why he [Shah] was coming and I don't understand why he decided not to come." He added: "Such incidents happened for the first time in the area. It's not natural... We know that some people are indulging in mischief and are trying to disrupt communal harmony in the state" Scroll. In October 2023 the state sanctioned Rs 29.78 crore to rebuild the Madrasa Azizia, then deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said Siasat.
Bihar arrests and the police case
Arrest figures rose quickly and came from different officials:
- 2 April: 27 arrested in Nalanda and 18 in Sasaram, per Bihar police (ANI) Tribune; 77 in Bihar Sharif, per police later that day PTI via Deccan Herald.
- Early April: 130 arrested in Nalanda, SP Ashok Mishra told Al Jazeera Al Jazeera.
- 10 April: 140 arrests in 15 FIRs in the Bihar Sharif violence, per ANI Scroll.
- 29 April: 63 arrested over the Sasaram violence, including former BJP MLA Jawahar Prasad Scroll.
Claim · Bihar police ADG Jitendra Singh Gangwar said the Bihar Sharif violence was planned through a WhatsApp group of about 456 members run by Kundan Kumar, the Bajrang Dal's Nalanda convener, and another accused, and that the group spread fake videos about Muslims Scroll, citing NDTV. The ADG gave the figure as 457 in a separate statement Deccan Herald. Kumar surrendered on 8 April as police moved to attach his property. He said he had been framed, was with a station officer on the day, and blamed "inadequate arrangements made by the administration" Scroll.
The BJP called Jawahar Prasad's arrest "minority appeasement politics"; Nitish Kumar replied, "All those involved, irrespective of party affiliations, will be arrested" Scroll.
What happened in West Bengal
Shibpur, Howrah
On 30 March a procession by the group Anjani Putra Sena passed through Sandhyabazar in Shibpur. Claim · Organisers Organisers said they were attacked with glass bottles, stones, bricks and later crude bombs. Vehicles, including police vehicles, were burnt and at least 15 people, some of them police, were injured Tribune. Stone-throwing and attacks on shops and vehicles resumed on 31 March Scroll; police used lathis and imposed Section 144 at several places. ADG South Bengal Siddhi Nath Gupta said 45 people had been arrested Free Press Journal.
Rishra, Hooghly
On 2 April a second Ram Navami procession in Rishra, which BJP leaders Dilip Ghosh and MLA Biman Ghosh joined, came under attack near Wellington Jute Mill More on GT Road at about 6.15 pm. A Chandannagar police officer said a group threw stones at it on its traditional route. Ghosh alleged police were "silent spectators for a while", and said Biman Ghosh was injured PTI via Tribune. Section 144 was imposed in Rishra wards 1 to 5 and Serampore ward 24, and internet was suspended in parts of both towns Outlook. Police had arrested 12 people by 3 April Business Today. No deaths were reported in Shibpur or Rishra in the sources reviewed.
Bengal: the two accounts
State government and Trinamool
Government's position Mamata Banerjee said the Howrah violence began after a procession diverted to an unauthorised route, and admitted police lapses Al Jazeera. "Who gave you the authority and permission to take swords in your processions?" she asked Tribune. On 31 March she said: "Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms" Scroll. On Rishra, TMC spokesperson Joyprakash Majumdar asked why the procession was held two days after Ram Navami and said participants carried swords Outlook.
BJP and the Centre
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar wrote to Amit Shah seeking an impartial central probe and said the violence was "pre-planned". Shah spoke to Governor C V Ananda Bose Scroll. The Governor said those responsible would be "crushed with an iron hand" Outlook. The child rights body NCPCR issued a notice to the Howrah police commissioner over the alleged use of children to throw stones Business Today.
The High Court, the Supreme Court and the NIA
High Court asks for force and a report
On a PIL by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Acting Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam's bench told the state to deploy adequate police. The Advocate General said firearms were used in processions and one deviated from its permitted route; the court said the state "could have been more careful" with permissions LiveLaw.
NIA probe ordered
The bench transferred the cases to the NIA and ordered records and CCTV footage handed over within two weeks Outlook. It found prima facie a "deliberate attempt" by police not to invoke the Explosive Substances Act, a scheduled offence under the NIA Act LiveLaw.
No stay
The Supreme Court refused to stay the order. For the state, Abhishek Manu Singhvi called the PIL politically motivated and said the NIA could not be used for ordinary violence LiveLaw.
Appeal dismissed
A bench led by CJI D Y Chandrachud dismissed the state's appeal over six FIRs from 31 March to 3 April, noting the Centre's own NIA notification had not been challenged, and confined the High Court's observations to jurisdiction. The state had argued there was no evidence of bombs and that police smoke and tear gas shells were being "projected as explosives" LiveLaw.
NIA arrests 11 in Shibpur
The NIA arrested 11 more Shibpur residents. The state police case had named 36 accused All India Radio.
Howrah chargesheet
The NIA filed a chargesheet over the Shibpur violence UNI.
Rishra councillor arrested, bailed
The NIA arrested Rishra councillor Shakir Ali, husband of former Trinamool MP Aparupa Poddar OdishaBytes. A special court granted him conditional bail on 3 July Free Press Journal.
Hooghly chargesheet
Claim · NIA The chargesheet names 43 accused and calls Shakir Ali the mastermind who planned the unrest for political gains, according to sources cited in the report. It says swords were recovered and explosives and gunpowder were found at another accused's home. All accused are on bail Hans India.
Outcome
- Deaths: One, a 16-year-old in Bihar Sharif on 1 April 2023.
- Property: Madrasa Azizia and its library burnt; shops, homes and vehicles burnt in all four towns.
- Arrests: Bihar Sharif 140 (by 10 Apr), Sasaram 63 (by 29 Apr), Howrah 45 (by 31 Mar), Rishra 12 (by 3 Apr), plus 11 by the NIA in 2024.
- Orders: Section 144 and internet suspensions in Bihar Sharif, Sasaram, Rishra and Serampore; Section 144 in parts of Howrah.
- Courts: Bengal cases moved to the NIA; Supreme Court upheld the transfer on 24 July 2023.
Where things stand
As of October 2026 the Bengal cases are with the NIA, with chargesheets filed in the Howrah and Hooghly cases and the accused on bail. No trial verdict has been reported. For Bihar, no chargesheet outcome, trial or verdict in the Bihar Sharif or Sasaram cases was found in published reports, and the status of Kundan Kumar's and Jawahar Prasad's cases is not publicly reported.
Questions people ask
What happened in Bihar Sharif on Ram Navami 2023?
Clashes after a procession on 31 March 2023 led to stone-throwing and arson, including the burning of the Madrasa Azizia and its library. A 16-year-old was shot dead on 1 April, and police had made 140 arrests in 15 FIRs by 10 April.
What was burnt at Madrasa Azizia?
The century-old madrasa's library, which held about 4,500 books including handwritten Islamic texts, was set on fire on 31 March 2023. Bihar sanctioned Rs 29.78 crore to rebuild it in October 2023.
Why did Amit Shah cancel his Sasaram visit?
The BJP said prohibitory orders imposed after the violence prevented the 2 April event and blamed the Nitish Kumar government. The Rohtas district magistrate told The Wire no Section 144 order had been issued by him or the SDO.
Why is the NIA probing the Bengal Ram Navami violence?
The Calcutta High Court ordered it on 27 April 2023 on Suvendu Adhikari's PIL, finding police had avoided invoking the Explosive Substances Act. The Supreme Court dismissed the state's challenge on 24 July 2023.
Who is Shakir Ali?
A Rishra municipal councillor and husband of former Trinamool MP Aparupa Poddar. The NIA arrested him in June 2026 and named him the alleged mastermind of the Rishra violence in a September 2026 chargesheet. He is on bail.
Sources
- Tribune: Clashes in WB during Ram Navami, 31 Mar 2023
- Scroll: Stone-throwing in Howrah day after Ram Navami clashes, 36 arrested, 31 Mar 2023
- ETV Bharat: Section 144 imposed in Sasaram as violence breaks out, 31 Mar 2023
- Scroll: Bihar: 13 injured in communal clashes in Nalanda and Rohtas, 1 Apr 2023
- Free Press Journal: Fresh clashes in Howrah; Section 144 imposed, 1 Apr 2023
- Scroll: One killed in fresh violence in Bihar, over 80 arrested, 2 Apr 2023
- Tribune/ANI: Bihar police arrest 27 in Nalanda, 18 in Sasaram, 2 Apr 2023
- Deccan Herald/PTI: 77 held over Bihar Sharif violence, 2 Apr 2023
- Business Standard/PTI: Shah speaks to Bihar Governor, additional forces to be sent, 2 Apr 2023
- Tribune/PTI: Clashes in Hooghly's Rishra during Ram Navami rally, 3 Apr 2023
- Outlook: Prohibitory orders in Hooghly, internet suspended, 3 Apr 2023
- Business Today: Section 144 imposed, internet suspended in Hooghly, 3 Apr 2023
- Al Jazeera: One dead as violence rocks eastern India during Hindu festival, 3 Apr 2023
- The Wire: Teenager killed in Bihar, BJP MLA hurt in Bengal, Apr 2023
- The Wire: Amit Shah's call for "instant justice" shocks Bihar administration, Apr 2023
- LiveLaw: Calcutta High Court directs state to deploy adequate force, 4 Apr 2023
- Deccan Herald: ADG says Bihar Sharif violence well-planned, 9 Apr 2023
- Al Jazeera: India town mourns burning of historic library at Muslim school, 10 Apr 2023
- Scroll: Bajrang Dal convener mastermind of Bihar Sharif violence, say police, 10 Apr 2023
- The Wire: 4,500 Islamic books burnt in attack on madrasa at Bihar Sharif, Apr 2023
- Outlook: Calcutta High Court transfers investigation to NIA, 27 Apr 2023
- Scroll: Bihar BJP leader arrested over Sasaram violence, 30 Apr 2023
- LiveLaw: Supreme Court refuses to stay HC direction for NIA probe, May 2023
- LiveLaw: Supreme Court dismisses WB govt's challenge to NIA investigation, 24 Jul 2023
- Siasat: Bihar allots Rs 30 crore for reconstruction of madrasa, 1 Oct 2023
- All India Radio: NIA arrests 11 accused in West Bengal communal violence case, 20 Mar 2024
- UNI: NIA files charge sheet in 2023 Ram Navami violence, 16 Jun 2026
- OdishaBytes: NIA arrests Trinamool councillor for Ram Navami violence, 30 Jun 2026
- Free Press Journal: Shakir Ali granted conditional bail, 3 Jul 2026
- Hans India: NIA chargesheet names husband of former Trinamool MP as mastermind, 10 Sept 2026