150 arrested in anti-Waqf protests in Murshidabad

Several vehicles, including police vans, were set on fire. Pic/PTI

Twelve more people were arrested in connection with the violent protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, where three people have died, police said on Sunday. No new incident of violence was reported from anywhere in the Muslim-majority district, with security forces keeping a close vigil, they said.

"The situation in Suti, Dhulian, Samserganj and Jangipur areas of the district is peaceful. Raids continued overnight, and 12 more people were arrested. With this, 150 people have been arrested so far," a senior police officer said.

"An investigation is underway into the incidents of violence. More arrests are likely," the officer said. 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.

At least 18 policemen were injured in the violence on Friday. Hundreds of people have crossed the Bhagirathi River and taken shelter in adjoining Malda, officials said. The local administration has arranged for accommodation and food for the fleeing riot-hit families and sheltered them in schools, while deploying volunteers at the river bank to assist those arriving in boats.

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, officials said.

Declare AFSPA: BJP

BJP's Purulia MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging the Centre to declare select bordering districts of West Bengal as "disturbed areas" under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), alleging repeated attacks on the Hindu community.

In his letter dated April 13, Mahato alleged that districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, Nadia and South 24 Parganas have witnessed violence against Hindus, with the state administration turning a "blind eye" due to what he called the ruling Trinamool Congress' "appeasement" politics.

He claimed that over 86 Hindu homes and shops were looted or destroyed in Murshidabad district recently and that civilians, including a man named Hargobindo Das and his son, were murdered. In Jhaubona village, he said, betel leaf plantations were set ablaze in what he described as "targeted economic sabotage".

BSF deployed

The Border Security Force (BSF) has deployed five companies to support state police operations, IG South Bengal Frontier Karni Singh Shekhawat said on Saturday. He said that BSF will act in coordination with the police and is prepared to send more forces if needed to help restore peace in the region.

Shekhawat reached the violence-hit area after the Calcutta High Court ordered the deployment of Central forces in the affected area. West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose expressed concern over the riots in West Bengal's Murshidabad, and said that he was glad that the Calcutta High Court stepped in and gave an appropriate decision. On Saturday, a special bench of Calcutta High Court ordered the deployment of Central forces "immediately".

‘Hindus being targeted'

BJP leader and spokesperson CR Kesavan on Sunday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "brutal communal politics of appeasement" is turning West Bengal into Jallianwala Bagh. He also said that the Hindu community in West Bengal is being targeted and forced to flee, while the chief minister remains silent.

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