Two persons died in violence that broke out in West Bengal’s Murshidabad after protests against the recent amendment to the Waqf Act turned violent, reported the Hindustan Times on Saturday.
A total of 118 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence.
The protesters set a police vehicle on fire and ransacked several others in the Jangipur area of the district, The Indian Express quoted a police officer as saying. The office of Trinamool Congress MP Khalilur Rehman was also allegedly vandalised during the protest and train services were disrupted.
On April 8, a mob clashed with the police, threw stones and set the vehicles of security forces on fire in Jangipur during a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act. Several police personnel were reportedly injured in the clashes.
Later in the day, orders prohibiting public gatherings till Thursday were imposed in the area. West Bengal’s Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty also issued orders to suspend the internet in Jangipur till 6 pm on Friday. Twenty-two persons were arrested in connection with the violence.
On Friday afternoon, protesters blocked National Highway 12 at Shajurmore crossing near Dhulian.
“As policemen tried to lift the blockade, stones were pelted at them,” a police officer was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “The protesters set fire to a police jeep and a motorbike in the area.”
About 70 people were arrested from Suti and 41 people from Samserganj in connection with the violence, PTI reported.
The West Bengal Police stated that traffic had returned to normal on the national highway by Friday night.
“Strict action will be taken against those who have resorted to violence,” said the police. “Raids are being conducted to arrest the troublemakers. Legal action will also be initiated against rumour-mongers trying to spread misinformation.”
Murshidabad District Magistrate Rajarshi Mitra told the newspaper that the administration was ascertaining the damage due to the violence.
Nearly 5,000 protesters had also blocked railway tracks, resulting in two passenger trains getting cancelled and four express trains being diverted, stated the Eastern Railway.
A railway official told PTI that a crossing gate between Dhulianganga and Nimtita stations was damaged by the protesters.
“There is a deep conspiracy to defame the state government,” Trinamool Congress MP Khalilur Rehman was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “My own office in Dhulian was ransacked.”
He claimed that he was stopped by the protesters while travelling through Shajurmore crossing and escorted out by the police. “The protesters had no flag, no leaders,” said Rehman.
A waqf is a property dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause under Islamic law. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity that is vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property.
The recent changes to the law curb the authority of waqf boards and allow greater government control over them.
The 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill brought changes to 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act, including allowing non-Muslims on waqf boards, restricting property donations and changing how waqf tribunals function.
The bill was cleared by Parliament on April 4. The Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party, both allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, supported the bill.
It was given presidential assent on April 5 and took effect on Tuesday.
The Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, among others, have challenged the constitutionality of the bill in the Supreme Court.
A day after the last violent clashes in Jangipur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the Waqf Amendment Act will not be implemented in the state.
“I know you are aggrieved because of the enactment of the Waqf Act,” the Trinamool Congress leader said on Wednesday. “Have faith, nothing will happen in Bengal by which one can divide and rule. You send out a message that all have to stay together.”