After Murshidabad, violence erupts in Bengal’s South 24 Parganas over Waqf law

Violent clashes broke out in the South 24 Parganas district of India’s eastern state of West Bengal on Monday after supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF) clashed with the police during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

South 24 Parganas became the second district of the state where protests against the new Waqf laws have turned violent after the Muslim-dominated Murshidabad.

The conflict began when police stopped Indian Secular Front (ISF) supporters near Bhojerhat on the Basanti Highway, where a large number of ISF workers had gathered from Bhangar and neighbouring areas of Minakhan and Sandeshkhali. The ISF supporters were heading towards Ramlila Maidan in central Kolkata to attend an anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act rally addressed by party leader and Bhangar MLA Naushad Siddique, reported news agency PTI.

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The confrontation brought traffic to a standstill, as ISF supporters sat on the highway in protest.
Tension escalated when the crowd attempted to break through police barricades, leading to a clash.

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“Some police vehicles were set on fire by the protesters, and a few police personnel were injured when the agitators attacked the law enforcers,” a senior police officer told PTI.

Police said no permission had been given for the rally, which was held nonetheless and at which Siddique called the new law “an attack on Muslims and an assault on the Constitution”.

“This law is not just an attack on Muslims, it is an assault on the Constitution. We won't accept this Act. The government that supports such laws must go,” he said.
ISF also accused the BJP of trying to incite communal tension and the ruling Trinamool Congress of suppressing opposition protests.

“The chief minister has said the new Waqf law will not be implemented in West Bengal. We welcome that. But then why are police stopping our workers from attending a peaceful rally? Does the right to protest belong only to the Trinamool Congress?” Siddique asked.

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A senior cop confirmed some police personnel were injured in the clashes, while eyewitnesses said the cops conducted a lathi-charge to disperse protesters.

A large police force, including senior officers, was deployed to bring the situation under control. A high alert was sounded in the nearby areas.
Videos on social media showed police motorcycles set ablaze and an overturned police bus with its windshield ripped out.

Last week, three people were killed, railway tracks were blocked, and there was arson and vandalism in Muslim-dominated Murshidabad district. Police arrested over 200 people in connection with that violence. It was also reported that more than 400 Hindus were forced to flee from the violence-hit areas of Samserganj in Murshidabad.

The Murshidabad violence was mentioned in the Supreme Court on Monday, and the petitioner sought a court-monitored investigation by a central agency into the violent clashes.
The Supreme Court will hear 15 petitions challenging the new Waqf laws on April 16.

Visuals from the affected areas showed charred vehicles. (PTI)