BHANGAR, India, April 14 – Violent clashes broke out in West Bengal’s Bhangar region on Monday during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, with police vehicles set ablaze and officers injured in stone-throwing incidents allegedly involving supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF).
Protesters led by ISF leader and state legislator Nawshad Siddique clashed with security forces in the Sonepur bazaar area of South 24 Parganas district. Five police motorbikes were torched and a prison van was attacked, police said.
The unrest came even as the violence-hit Murshidabad district, the epicentre of earlier clashes linked to opposition to the same legislation, showed signs of returning to normalcy. At least three people were killed in Murshidabad during earlier protests on April 12.
Authorities have arrested over 200 people in connection with the unrest, said Jawed Shamim, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order). He added that displaced residents who had fled violence in Murshidabad to neighbouring Malda district had begun returning home.
“About 100 to 200 people had taken shelter across the river in a school in Baishnabnagar,” Shamim said, countering opposition claims that nearly 400 people had been forced to flee. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed for calm on Monday, urging protestors to seek permission before holding demonstrations and warning against the politicisation of religious sentiment.
“Everyone has the right to protest but it must be peaceful and with due permission. No one should play vicious games in the name of religion,” Banerjee said during a public event in Kolkata.
The state government has opposed the central legislation and pledged not to implement the amended Waqf law in West Bengal. The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, has faced criticism from several minority and opposition groups, who claim it undermines community rights over religious properties.
Additional security measures have been taken across the affected regions. Senior officials from the Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) visited Murshidabad and met with top state police officials. At least 17 companies of central armed police forces have been deployed under instructions from the Calcutta High Court.
Opposition leaders including BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and CPI(M) state secretary Md. Salim visited the affected areas. Majumdar alleged that homes were burned and properties destroyed, forcing residents—mostly women and children—from minority communities to flee.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, which modifies the management and oversight of Islamic charitable endowments, has become a flashpoint in the politically sensitive state ahead of general elections due next year.
