2 dead after violence erupts during protests against Waqf Act in Bengal’s Murshidabad

Two persons died in violence that broke out in West Bengal’s Murshidabad after protests against the recent amendment to the Waqf Act turned violent, reported the Hindustan Times on Saturday.

A total of 118 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence, reported PTI.

The protesters set a police vehicle on fire and ransacked several others in the Jangipur area of the district, The Indian Express quoted a police officer as saying. The office of Trinamool Congress MP Khalilur Rehman was also allegedly vandalised during the protest and train services were disrupted.

On April 8, a mob clashed with the police, threw stones and set the vehicles of security forces on fire in Jangipur during a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act. Several police personnel were reportedly injured in the clashes.

Later in the day, orders prohibiting public gatherings till Thursday were imposed in the area. West Bengal’s Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty also issued orders to suspend the internet in Jangipur till 6 pm on Friday. Twenty-two persons were arrested in connection with the violence.

On Friday afternoon, protesters blocked National Highway 12 at Shajurmore crossing near Dhulian.

“As policemen tried to lift the blockade, stones were pelted at them,” a police officer was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “The protesters set fire to a police jeep...

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