13 Muslim men convicted for brutal murder of Hargobinda Das and his son: Read how West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had tried to pin the blame on the BJP

On 22nd December (Monday), a Jangipur trial court found 13 Muslims guilty of killing 72-year-old Hargobindo Das and his 40-year-old son Chandan. The murder took place on 12th April, in the Dhulia town of Murshidabad district. A mob pulled the two from their home and mercilessly hacked them to death in Jafrabad of Samserganj.

The accused were identified as Dildar Nadab, Asmaul Nadab alias Kalu Nadab, Enjamul Hoque, Jiayul Hoque, Feqarul Sheikh, Ajfarul Sheikh alias Bilai, Monirul Sheikh, Ekbal Sheikh, Nurul Sheikh, Saba Karim, Hazrat Sheikh, Hazrat Ali, Akbar Ali alias Ekbar Sheikh and Yousuf Sheikh alias Sheikh Eusub.

They had been booked and convicted under sections 103(2), 310(2), 331(5), 191(3), 115(2), 126(2), 332(a) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The decision was pronounced by Judge Amitabh Mukhopadhyay of the Jangipur Sub-Divisional Court, and the quantum of punishment is set to be announced on 23rd December.

Special public prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee informed, “The 13 were convicted for murder, robbery, trespassing, rioting with a deadly weapon, causing hurt and wrongful restraint, among other BNS sections. This was one of the fastest convictions in Bengal in a twin murder case. The sentencing is expected on Tuesday.”

A 25-person Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the direction of the Deputy Inspector General (Murshidabad Range) submitted a 983-page charge sheet. The SIT conducted raids across Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand to apprehend the attackers,s including the neighbours of the victims.

The father and son had withstood the bloodthirsty crowd twice, according to eyewitnesses who testified in court. However, on the third occasion, the assailants returned armed and killed them. Family members who witnessed the atrocity also provided their statements in court.

Family approaches Calcutta High Court, BJP leader reacts after verdict

The Calcutta High Court has already received a plea from the family for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, and the case is currently pending. Chandan’s widow also remarked that the subsequent action would be determined once the sentence has been delivered.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya took to social media following the judgment and stated, “West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee is increasingly unsafe for Hindu Bengalis, who are facing targeted violence.” He referred to the lynching of the father and son as “a deeply disturbing reminder of this reality.”

West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee is increasingly unsafe for Hindu Bengalis, who are facing targeted violence.

The brutal murder of the father–son duo Hargobinda Das and Chandan Das during the communal riots in Murshidabad is a deeply disturbing reminder of this reality.

A… pic.twitter.com/y7o3X3a4hJ

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 23, 2025

The horrific incident transpired after a violent anti-Waqf Amendment Act agitation in the area. However, Malviya pointed out that “the judge categorically noted that the murder had nothing to do with Waqf, exposing attempts to mislead the public and deflect responsibility.” He further conveyed, “Justice after loss does not erase the fear that Hindus within the state continue to live with. Law and order, equal protection, and truth must not be compromised for political convenience.”

Parul Das recounted the dreadful event

“First, they broke that shop. They looted everything and then went away. Later, they came back and destroyed our kitchen. They then hurled stones, threw glasses and bottles on our rooftop. They pelted stones and bricks from the other side of the fence. When they came for the 3rd time, they were armed with spades, shovels and other sharp weapons.” The disclosure was made by Parul Das, the spouse of the late Harogobindo Das, in May.

She further recalled, “The father and the son were standing there. They dragged the father-son duo out. The father was hacked near the drain. My son was killed just underneath that tree.” The grieving woman replied, “No, nothing. The murders would not have happened during the third time (if cops were there). They (the police) came 4 hours later,” when questioned if the authorities came to assistance. The images that were displayed on TV helped her to recognise the killers.

“We are in a state of terror. We want the BSF camp,” Parul had demanded. She was also unaware of the reason behind the cruelty inflicted upon her family and expressed, “How do I say? We did not have enmity with anyone.” Moreover, the West Bengal police and members of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) were accused of harassing Parul and her daughter-in-law Pinki Das.

West Bengal was experiencing widespread violence over the Waqf Amendment Act at the time, and Murshidabad was no exception. On 11th and 12th April, numerous inhabitants of Samsherganj’s Dhulian municipality and Tinpakuria gram panchayat were forced to escape after their homes and cars were set on fire and vandalised.

The 13 culprits, who are also from the same area, seized this opportunity to carry out the brutality that was otherwise unrelated to the demonstration. A police official earlier mentioned that the murderers were armed with swords and sticks, reported The Hindu. According to him, the murder weapon, which was later found, was an incisive sword-like tool with a sharp 90-degree bend towards the top.

On the other hand, according to the SIT chargesheet, rumours regarding firing at a nearby mosque by security personnel led to the double homicide as the maniacal crowd set houses on fire and committed arson.

Mamata Banerjee tried to find political conspiracies as Islamists targeted Hindus in Murshidabad

It is clear that the murder resulted from the bloodlust of the radical throng and was unrelated to the central act in any manner. Nevertheless, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, instead of taking responsibility for the inadequacy of her state’s machinery to safeguard the lives of the innocent Hindus, chose to promote political propaganda regarding this sensitive issue.

While addressing a group of Muslim leaders (imams), Mamata declared that the Murshidabad violence was “pre-planned” and attributed the blame to the BJP. “Yesterday, I saw a tweet from ANI quoting the Home Ministry that Bangladesh is involved in this. If this is true, the central government is responsible for it. Border Security Force (BSF) takes care of the border and not the state government. Why did you allow the people of the BJP to come from outside, cause a disturbance and run away,” she asked.

“The central government can’t evade responsibility. I will find out who the BSF had financed in the border areas by paying money to local youths to pelt stones during the violence,” the chief minister alleged.

She even warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the “atrocious” Waqf Amendment Act would split the nation and implored him not to implement it. The chief minister accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of “harming the nation most for his own political agenda” and even asked PM Modi to restrain him. She also reiterated that her party was “at the forefront in the fight against the Waqf law.”

Other than the fact that the violence in Bengal was fueled by divisive comments made by Mamata and other TMC leaders to please their favourite demographic, it is quite evident that she held everyone accountable for the unrest except for the police, which is tasked with maintaining law and order or her government that was elected to power in the state.

The ineptness exhibited by Mamata’s administration was also apparent in the SIT chargesheet. The authorities not only failed to suppress rumour-mongering but also could not contain the jihadis as they rampaged throughout the area. Importantly, Parul Das had also underscored the police’s utter incompetence, stating that her husband and son would have survived had the cops not shown up four hours late at the spot.

However, the TMC supremo continued to escalate her problematic rhetoric as Bengal was set ablaze by extremists in the name of anti-Waqf Amendment Act protests, and she consistently issued statements that echoed their sentiments while simultaneously attacking the saffron party.

Mamata lashed out at the RSS after criticism for failing to prevent violence.

Mamata did not even hesitate to hit out at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh along with the BJP, alleging that they were propagating a multitude of untruths in relation to the violence in West Bengal.

“What BJP and its allies are spreading is false and narrow. What they are saying is a basket of untruths, full of misinterpretations. Please do not believe them. They want to foment riots,” the chief minister asserted. “The BJP and its allies have suddenly become very aggressive in West Bengal. RSS is also among their companions. I did not mention RSS earlier, but this time I am forced to say that they are also at the root of the ugly lies being spread in the state,” she further contended.

“They are eager to use an unfortunate incident that has occurred as a result of provocation. They are using it to do the politics of division. They want to play the divide and rule game. It is a dangerous game,” Mamata argued. The BJP and RSS, according to her, were attempting to discredit what she referred to as “universal Hinduism,” which included “Hinduism to Islam, from Christianity to Buddhism,m from Jainism to Judaism.”

Her reaction transpired after Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose rightly criticised the government’s “handling” of the unbridled chaos and described the situation as “bizarre and barbaric”. Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, also highlighted that the administration could not stop the violence.

Conclusion

The violent demonstration against the act served as a guise to murder the two Das men, who had no connection with any of it. The Muslim mob killed them in a shocking illustration of their savagery. However, Mamata, rather than reprimanding the police, did what she usually does and targeted the BJP and RSS, as she cannot afford to alienate her voter base, which was behind the crime and the turmoil on the streets of the state.

Hindus were killed, and riots were taking place in the state while Mamata and TMC leaders were indulging in peddlina g narrative against the Waqf Amendment Act instead of attempting to restore order. Afterwards, she began to take out her anger at the BJP and RSS when faced with the reality on the ground, as if it were not a consequence of her administration’s glaring shortcomings.