Crime Today News
On April 11 and April 12, protests against the Modi government’s Waqf Amendment Act descended into violence in parts of Murshidabad district in West Bengal. Apart from injuries and arson, the violence led to three deaths. Chandan Das and his father Hargobind Das were murdered by a mob in Shamsherganj, while Ijaz Momin was shot dead as the police opened fire in Suti.
The rioting also led hundreds of Hindus, who are a minority in Murshidabad district, to flee to neighbouring Malda.
The violence raises serious questions about the state of preparedness of the West Bengal Police. How were mobs allowed to riot for two days? And why did the police not have enough presence on the ground even after rioting to prevent an exodus from places hit by violence?
Statements by the chief minister after the violence have served to make things worse. Mamata Banerjee has squarely blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party, Amit Shah and even alleged that the Border Security Force was colluding with rioters.
Whatever be the communal role of the BJP in Bengal, at the end of the day, the responsibility for law and order rests with Banerjee. It is her government that controls the police. It is improbable that rioting of this magnitude could take place without the knowledge of the police. And in the unlikely event that it has, it points to serious incompetence. Either way, it is the West Bengal state government led by Banerjee that will have to take responsibility.
Murshidabad is now part of a pattern: the rise of communalism in the state of West Bengal is blamed on the BJP.
This is true – but only partly.
The whole truth is that the Trinamool also bears a significant amount of responsibility. Consider motives. Banerjee has been the biggest beneficiary of the polarisation in Bengali society since the demise of the Left. Scared of the BJP coming to power, Bengal’s Muslims have voted for the Trinamool en masse. This allows the party to garner a nearly 30% vote share even before the race has begun.
Since this is based on communalism, the Trinamool does not actually have to perform to hold this vote. In fact, in the 2024 general election, when I reported from Bengal, I found significant levels of anger against the Trinamool amongst Muslims, who clearly saw they were being taken for granted.
West Bengal’s politics has always been violent. Till the 1970s, the Congress used the police, paramilitary forces and goons to inflict deadly violence on a rising Left. Once the Left was in power, it, in turn, mobilised its cadre to violently attack the Congress.
In 1990, in fact, a young Mamata Banerjee’s skull was fractured by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadre while leading a Congress rally. Later, when she formed a new party, the Left trained its guns on the Trinamool. And of course, once in power, the Trinamool violently attacked the Left.
However, what has happened over the past decade is something more sinister. Till a decade ago, political violence was just that: political. Since then, it has taken a darker turn, acquiring communal overtones.
West Bengal has a bloody history of communal violence. However, since the last major riot in 1964, the state has seen no major communal incidents. A large part of this can be attributed to the rise of the Left, which, for all its other faults, was witheringly strict when it came to religious violence. Even as other states in India burnt during major incidents such as the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the 1992 Babri Masjid riots, Bengal largely remained calm. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) could be quite violent, but it largely cut out India’s most dangerous form of violence: communal rioting.
Unfortunately, the past decade has seen the return of communal violence into Bengal. As the ruling party, it would be farcical for the Trinamool to wash its hands of this and blame what it calls an “outsider party”, the BJP.
Here is a summary of the week’s top stories.
The challenges to the Waqf Amendment Act. The Union government told the Supreme Court it will not implement key provisions of the amended Waqf law until the court hears the matter again. These include denotifying existing waqf properties and appointing non-Muslims to waqf boards.
The court was hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf Amendment Act, which took effect on April 8. A waqf is an endowment under Islamic law dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause.
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked the government to respond to the petitions within a week and barred new appointments to waqf councils and boards until May 5.
Protests against the law have turned violent in parts of the country, with three people killed in West Bengal. The law amends 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act.
The National Herald case. The Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey in the National Herald money-laundering case. The chargesheet, filed on April 9, will be heard by a special court on April 25.
It follows the directorate’s move to seize properties worth Rs 661 crore linked to the case. The assets, located in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow, were attached in 2023 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold a 38% stake in Young Indian, the company accused of acquiring the National Herald’s publisher using Congress funds. In April 2008, the National Herald, which was founded and edited by Jawaharlal Nehru before he became India’s first prime minister, suspended operations as it had incurred a debt of over Rs 90 crore.
The Congress has described the case as a “political vendetta”, denying any wrongdoing and accusing the Modi government of misusing investigative agencies.
Indians abroad. Half of around 327 student visa revocations in the United States by the Trump administration have involved Indians, the American Immigration Lawyers Association has said. The group flagged “unprecedented” administrative actions against students, including those with no history of protests or criminal convictions.
The US is reportedly using AI to monitor student visa holders’ social media as part of a “catch and revoke” programme. Many affected were on Optional Practical Training, having graduated and begun working. Infractions cited included speeding tickets and even domestic violence complaints.
The external affairs ministry said it was in touch with affected students.
Also on Scroll this week
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