The Jangipur Sub-Divisional court in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, handed down life imprisonment to 13 people for the murder of Hargobindo Das and his son Chandan Das during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in April. The court’s decision was announced by Sub-Divisional Court Judge Amitabha Mukhopadhyay, with tight security measures in place at the premises. The victims, residents of Jafrabad village, were killed in the Samserganj Police Station area of Jangipur Police District.
The convicted individuals, including Dildar Nadab, Asmaul Nadab, and others, were found guilty of the murders, which were determined to be driven by personal vendetta rather than political motives. The arrests were made by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police, following the submission of a 900-page charge sheet earlier this year. The SIT highlighted that the attack was pre-planned and occurred as the victims tried to prevent riots in their village.
The family members of the deceased rejected compensation from the state government but accepted support from the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari. The Calcutta High Court, which directed the SIT formation to investigate the Murshidabad riots, also ordered the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in the area. The court criticized the state government’s handling of communal unrest, stating that earlier deployment of CAPF could have prevented the severity of the situation.
