
Murshidabad anti-Waqf Bill violence: Twenty two arrested; internet suspended; Prohibitory Orders imposed
The Hindu
Violence erupts in Murshidabad during protest against Waqf Act, leading to arrests and security measures by authorities.
“At least 22 people were apprehended following an incident of violence and arson during a protest rally against the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, at West Bengal’s Murshidabad on Tuesday (April 8, 2025),” a police officer said on Wednesday (April 9, 2025.)
The District Magistrate of Murshidabad Rajarshi Mitra passed a 48-hour Prohibitory Order on Tuesday (April 8, 2025) evening under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita for the areas under the Raghunathganj and Suti police stations of Murshidabad. It prohibits the assembly of five or more people in one place.
The order is effective from 6 p.m. Tuesday (April 8, 2025) to 6 p.m. on Thursday (April 10, 2025). Similarly, West Bengal Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty on Tuesday (April 8, 2025) passed an order suspending internet services in the Jangipur Sub Division area in Murshidabad from Tuesday (April 8, 2025) till 6 p.m. on Friday (April 11, 2025).
On Tuesday evening, violence erupted when around a hundred protesters, sloganeering against the Act, clashed with the police in the area adjoining the Umarpur crossing under the Raghunathganj police station along National Highway 12.
“The protesters got into physical altercations with the police, allegedly pelted stones, and vandalised multiple police vehicles,” a police officer said. Two police vehicles were allegedly torched, and multiple personnel were left injured in the clash.
“The police reportedly lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to lathi charge. By late evening on Tuesday (April 8, 2025), normalcy was restored in the area and traffic movement resumed,” West Bengal police said on social media.
With Prohibitory Orders in place, the Jangipur area remained quiet and deserted on Wednesday morning (April 9, 2025), with frequent patrolling by police personnel. Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose posted on his social media handle on Tuesday night condemning the violence at Murshidabad.

There are two instances where the government has shifted out such establishments out of the core city areas. The APMC yard, which was operating out of N.T. Pet, was shifted to Yeshwanthpur in the late 1980s, and HAL airport was shut down for passenger traffic and a new airport was built near Devanahalli.