India: Muslims block roads, vandalize vehicles, attack Hindus to protest a bill passed by parliament

The recent passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 in India has sparked widespread unrest across West Bengal. The state government, led by a party frequently criticized for its overt appeasement of Muslim vote banks, has often been accused of paying no heed to jihadi elements. In past incidents, police officers have reportedly retreated or failed to act during violent attacks on police stations by people from the Muslim community. In some extreme cases, police officials have reportedly delivered groceries to individuals involved in causing communal unrest. Against this backdrop, many saw the frenzied protests against the Waqf Amendment Bill — which aims to curb unlawful land acquisitions by Muslim individuals and organizations — as inevitable.

The violence, which began on Tuesday, April 8, intensified sharply after Friday prayers on April 11 and peaked over the weekend. Major areas affected include Murshidabad, Bongaon, and Kolkata, where Muslim rioters clashed with police, torched property and caused widespread chaos and injuries.

Murshidabad, a Muslim-majority district near the Bangladesh border, was hit particularly hard and remained the epicenter of the mayhem. In the town of Umarpur, Jangipur subdivision, enraged mobs blocked National Highway 12 and set multiple police vehicles ablaze. On Friday, demonstrators stormed the office of a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament, vandalized private cars, and torched a police jeep.

Violence also spread to the Suti and Samserganj blocks immediately following Friday prayers. In Jalangi, an aggressive mob returning from an agitation against the Waqf Amendment Act broke through the gates of the Block Development Officer’s (BDO) office and vandalized it extensively. The entire premises were ransacked and reduced to rubble, as seen in several disturbing videos circulated online.

Reacting to the mayhem, the BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar said, “In Jalangi, Murshidabad, their fury forced the West Bengal police to retreat, vehicles were torched, and in moments, a full BDO office was reduced to rubble.”

He added, “This is not just administrative failure — this happens when governance is sacrificed at the altar of vote-bank politics. Offices are unsafe. Life itself is at risk. And yet, the regime shields the chaos in the name of secularism.”

Reports have also surfaced of murderous jihadi crowds carrying out targeted attacks on Hindu businesses under the guise of anti-bill protests. In one incident, a Hindu-owned sweet shop was looted in broad daylight. “They took away all our belongings. including cash kept inside the shop…There is nothing left. How will we eat now?” the owner’s wife cried while speaking to local media.

While Saturday morning began calmly, tension flared again by afternoon in Dhulian, Samserganj block. A private hospital was set on fire, followed by the vandalism of a shopping mall before law enforcement could regain control. The Additional Superintendent of Police in Malda was attacked and severely injured while trying to manage the situation.

Amidst the chaos, tragedy struck when a father and son were found stabbed to death in their home in Jafrabad, Samserganj. Both had suffered multiple knife wounds and were declared dead at the hospital. While the authorities have refused to confirm whether the killings were linked to the riots, the timing has only fueled community tensions.

More than 110 arrests have been made in connection with the unrest. Internet services have been suspended in several parts of Murshidabad in order to curb the spread of misinformation. Given Murshidabad’s proximity to the Bangladesh border, the Calcutta High Court intervened, ordering the deployment of Central Forces to restore law and order.

In Bongaon, located in the North 24 Parganas district, protests escalated into full-blown riots. Violent jihadis clashed with police, resulting in multiple injuries. Roads were blocked, vehicles vandalized, and emergency restrictions under Section 144 were imposed to control the escalating violence.

In Kolkata, another flashpoint emerged when a video surfaced online showing a Muslim mob allegedly forcing a bus driver to remove a saffron flag from his vehicle in the presence of police. The incident reportedly occurred near Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda’s ancestral home in north Kolkata. Hundreds of Muslims in India, including those who are illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh, regularly attack the Hindus if they take out a religious procession from a public road where a mosque stands, but they force Hindus to remove their flag from a vehicle right in front of a Hindu saint’s home.

To illuminate the exclusive nature of this site, consider the fact that there are more than 55,000 active mosques in India and only one home of the Hindu monk, who was also a key figure in introducing Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga in the 19th century. The forcible removal of the religious flag establishes that the true agenda of all this chaos is to target the Hindus and desecrate Hindu religious symbols right in front of administrative officials. Shortly afterward, two Muslims climbed atop this bus and waved Islamic and Palestinian flags, as seen on viral photos of this incident. How is Palestine linked to the Waqf Amendment bill? The video shows bystanders, including uniformed police, failing to intervene, drawing sharp criticism from BJP leaders.

“This is a direct insult to the cultural fabric of Bengal and the legacy of Swami Vivekananda,” said BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar. “The administration continues to turn a blind eye to these brazen acts.”