Life-Term to 13 Convicts in Murshidabad Father-Son Lynching During Protest Against Waqf Act

PTI, KOLKATA, DEC 23, 2025: A court in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Tuesday sentenced 13 people to life imprisonment for the lynching of a man and his son during protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

Special public prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee said this is the country's second conviction in a mob lynching case and the first in West Bengal. The fast-track court in Jangipur directed the state to give Rs 15 lakh compensation to the family of the victims.

Haragobinda Das (72) and his son Chandan Das (42) were killed by a mob at their house in Jafrabad in the Samserganj police station area on April 12.

Chatterjee said the prosecution had prayed for capital punishment for the convicts, maintaining that the crime falls in the "rarest of rare" category. He said the state government will decide whether it will appeal against the judgment before the Calcutta High Court.

The court had convicted these 13 accused on Monday. Each of the 13 convicts was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for dacoity, 10 years of imprisonment for house trespass, and a five-year term for rioting. All the sentences will run concurrently, the court said.

Violent protests rocked Murshidabad district from April 8 to 12, after the Waqf (Amendment) Act was passed in Parliament. Central forces had to be deployed to control the situation.