SC Hearing On Pleas For SIT Probe Into Murshidabad Riot On April 21; Bengal Guv Slams ‘Barbaric’ Violence
The Supreme Court will hear petitions related to the recent violence in Murshidabal. West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose condemned the 'barbaric' violence, urging normalcy and confidence.
The Supreme Court is set to hear two petitions related to the violence in Murshidabad, West Bengal, on April 21. The bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh will preside over the hearing. The petitions demand a court-monitored SIT probe into the incident and seek an explanation from the West Bengal government over the alleged failure of law and order.
The PILs have been filed by advocates Shashank Shekhar Jha and Vishal Tiwari, news agency IANS reported.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Saturday condemned the recent communal violence in Murshidabad as “barbaric”, asserting that such incidents must never recur. He stressed the need to restore normalcy in the affected areas and build public confidence. The violence, which erupted on April 11 in the Muslim-majority district during protests against amendments to the Waqf Act, led to the deaths of at least three people and left hundreds homeless. The unrest also spread to Malda, South 24 Parganas, and Hooghly, involving arson, stone-pelting, and road blockades.
“What happened is barbaric. This should never happen again. People are in panic. We should re-establish normalcy there and bring people to confidence that there is someone to protect them, and also take all steps to see that such things are warded off in future,” Bose told news agency ANI during his visit to .Murshidabad He added that one of the key demands from locals was for a permanent BSF camp in the area.
#WATCH | Murshidabad: West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose says, "... What happened is barbaric... This should never happen again. People are in panic... We should re-establish normalcy there and bring people to confidence that there is someone to protect them, and also take all… https://t.co/3OILiOXcq5 pic.twitter.com/16uMAMwMQY
— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2025
Bose told news agency PTI, "It is a bounden duty of all concerned authorities, particularly the government, to instill confidence in people first. Second, take care of them and address their needs, and thirdly, give them a sense of security. Fourth, make them feel that justice will be done. Lastly, establish peace."
VIDEO | After meeting victims of violence that erupted in Murshidabad during protests against Waqf (Amendment) Act, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose says, "It is a bounden duty of all concerned authorities, particularly the government, to instill confidence in people first.… pic.twitter.com/Eo1hkPg2Ca
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 19, 2025
Governor Bose visited Dhuliyan to meet victims, while a delegation from the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, toured affected areas including Murshidabad and Malda as part of a three-day visit. Rahatkar, speaking to the media, said, “The suffering these people are going through is inhuman. We will put their demands in front of the government.” She added, “I am dumbfounded by the agony these women are having to suffer. What they went through during the violence is beyond imagination.”
Rahatkar assured the victims, “Please don’t worry. The country and the commission are with you. Don’t think that you are alone.” Many women broke down while sharing their ordeal, with placards reading messages such as “We don’t want Lakshmir Bhandar, we want BSF camp. We want security”, and “We demand resignation of Chief Minister for her failure to protect us”.
NCW member Archana Majumdar said the commission would report the women’s demands to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, especially regarding the deployment of BSF camps. BJP MLA Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, who accompanied the team, said the scale of violence was unprecedented in the region.
'NCW Has Long Been A Political Wing Of The BJP': TMC Slams Visit
However, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) criticised the NCW’s visit. Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale alleged that NCW member Archana Majumdar, who contested the 2021 elections on a BJP ticket, lacked neutrality. “NCW has long been a political wing of the BJP. And they aren’t even good at hiding it,” he said.
TMC general secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed the NCW was following a “playbook” used previously in Sandeshkhali to malign the state government. “When NCW visited Sandeshkhali the last time, propaganda and misinformation began. They are now repeating the same in Murshidabad,” Ghosh said. He questioned why the NCW did not show similar urgency during incidents in other states like Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, or Madhya Pradesh.
'Local Muslims Not Involved In Riots, This Is Preplanned Violence': Bengal Congress Chief
West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Subhankar Sarkar visited the violence-affected areas of Murshidabad district and alleged that the recent communal clashes were pre-planned. He asserted that local Muslims had no role in the unrest and urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to provide long-term support to the victims’ families.
Sarkar, accompanied by senior Congress leaders including Malda Dakshin MP Isha Khan Choudhury and All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer Amba Prasad, visited Shamsherganj and met the families affected by the violence. According to PTI, he said, “Here (in Murshidabad), people of every community stay together. The local Muslims are not involved in the riots. This is preplanned violence. There are people who are trying to spread violence in Bengal because of binary politics.”
He also criticised the compensation announced by the state government and demanded sustainable rehabilitation measures. “The CM must provide jobs to the families of the victims and take care of the education of their children. How long will Rs 10 lakh compensation last?” he questioned.
Sarkar further questioned the role of the administration, hinting at a possible failure to prevent the violence. “I am asking, who set the fire? Was it the BJP? Then who gave them the matchbox? Had the state administration taken a strict stand, such a thing might not have happened,” he said.
Responding to demands made by the affected families for permanent Border Security Force (BSF) outposts in the area, the Congress leader said the party fully supports such demands. “Affected people can make any demand. Our duty is to stay beside them and that should be the duty of all political parties. Our party leaders and supporters are with them. We are with the Hindus and the Muslims,” he said.
BJP's Suvendu Adhikari Alleges Relief Camps Turned Into 'Detention Facilities'
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday accused the West Bengal government of converting relief camps for riot-affected individuals into “detention facilities”, alleging that media and voluntary organisations are being denied access to assess the condition of displaced families. He held a 'Hindu Bachao Rally' in Kolkata to protest against the violence in Murshidabad.
VIDEO | Kolkata: BJP leader and West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) holds protest rally from Netaji Bhavan to house of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, against Murshidabad violence.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 19, 2025
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/sudJfoGjxJ
Addressing the rally from the residence of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on Elgin Road to Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s ancestral home in Bhawanipore, Adhikari said, “You (Bengali Hindus) had once left your belongings and property in then East Pakistan and settled here. This TMC government will not come to your rescue when you will be driven out of your homes again.”
The Leader of the Opposition further alleged that over 10,000 Hindu Bengalis were displaced following targeted attacks during the anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act protests on April 11–12 in Shamsherganj, Dhulian, Suti, and Jangipur in Murshidabad district.
Claiming that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government is reluctant to deploy central forces in sensitive border regions for vote-bank politics, the Nandigram MLA said that districts like Murshidabad should be brought under the surveillance of central forces such as the BSF to check the movement of “jhadi elements”. He also advocated for the right to bear arms in border areas for self-defence.
At a press conference held at ICCR, Adhikari introduced two riot-affected individuals from Murshidabad and announced that the BJP, along with its allied organisations, would extend support to rebuild damaged homes and property. Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta was present at the event.
Earlier on social media, Adhikari claimed that many, especially women and children, had taken shelter in Parlalpur High School and other nearby schools in Malda’s Baishnabnagar across the Bhagirathi river after fleeing Dhulian and Shamsherganj to protect their dignity.
He alleged that the displaced are being provided with poor-quality rice and vegetables, and that police are hoarding food items donated by NGOs in local godowns. He also claimed that NGOs extending help are facing trumped-up cases. “Such behaviour towards those who had fled their homes is cruel, inhuman and against democratic principle,” Adhikari said, adding that the BJP may move court if violations of human rights continue.
Former Congress MP from Baharampur, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, echoed similar concerns, stating that the state administration was not making arrangements for the displaced families’ return and was preventing media and relatives from meeting them.
According to PTI, around 400 people, mostly women and children, fled their homes and sought refuge in schools and relief camps in Malda after mobs attacked their properties during the April 11-12 protests.
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