Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Dec 22: A court in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Monday held 13 individuals guilty in connection with the killing of Hargobindo Das and his son Chandan Das, who lost their lives during communal violence that erupted in April amid protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

The verdict was delivered by the district court at Jangipur, which is scheduled to announce the quantum of punishment on Tuesday—nearly nine months after the incident that shook the region on April 12.

The investigation was carried out by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state police, which arrested the accused in a series of operations following the violence. The SIT later filed a detailed charge sheet spanning around 900 pages, describing the assault as a premeditated act. According to the findings, the father and son were attacked while attempting to stop unrest in their village.

In the aftermath of the killings, the victims’ family declined compensation offered by the Trinamool Congress-led state government but accepted financial assistance extended by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

Earlier, the Calcutta High Court had intervened in the case, ordering the constitution of the SIT and directing the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces in Murshidabad to contain the violence. A division bench comprising Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury had criticised the state government’s handling of the situation, observing that delayed deployment of central forces contributed to the severity of the unrest.

The High Court also stressed that, apart from compensating bereaved families, the state must ensure that educational institutions in sensitive areas continue to function normally despite the disturbances.