A Bengal court on Tuesday sentenced 13 men to life imprisonment for the brutal lynching of a father-son duo, Haragobinda Das and Chandan Das, during a bout of communal violence that rocked Murshidabad’s Jangipur in April amid protests against the Centre’s Waqf (Amendment) Act.
“Life Imprisonment for 13 in the brutal double murder of father and son in Samsherganj On April 12th, two residents of Jafarabad village under the Samsherganj Police Station in Jangipur Police District—Haragobinda Das and his son Chandan Das—were brutally murdered by a mob. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe this double murder. Following a comprehensive investigation, a chargesheet was filed against 13 accused persons. The verdict for the case was delivered today. The Court has found all 13 accused guilty and imprisoned them for life,” West Bengal Police informed through a post on X, following the Jangipur trial court’s verdict.
The court found the accused guilty of murdering 72-year-old Hargobindo Das and his 40-year-old son Chandan Das after they were dragged from their home in Jafrabad and hacked to death by a mob in Dhuliyan. The violence followed what began as a protest against the new Waqf law, which spiralled into widespread arson, arson and attacks on residents in the area.
This comes after Additional District Judge Amitava Mukherjee delivered the judgment after the prosecution presented detailed evidence, including eyewitness testimonies and forensic reports on Monday. The court convicted all 13 defendants under multiple sections of the law, including murder, rioting with deadly weapons, robbery, trespassing, wrongful restraint and causing hurt, among others.
“The 13 people have been convicted on counts of murder, robbery, trespassing, rioting. They are also charged of using and causing harm with deadly weapons under BNS. There are also multiple other charges against them,” Bivas Chatterjee, who is the special public prosecutor, confirmed on Monday.
The convictions and sentencing follow the filing of a comprehensive 983-page chargesheet earlier this year by a 25-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Deputy Inspector General Syed Waquar Raza. The SIT conducted extensive investigations and coordinated raids across West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand to apprehend the accused, several of whom were alleged to be neighbours of the victims.
Eyewitnesses during the trial recounted how the father and son initially resisted the mob’s approach, but were overpowered when the attackers returned with weapons and dragged them onto the street where they were killed, sources said.
The victims’ family has also sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the broader circumstances of the violence, a petition that remains pending before the Calcutta High Court.
BJP has condemned the judgment calling for capital punishment further attacking the state of judicial system in Bengal. Speaking at a press conference today, Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari said, “The Bengal Police saved the convicts from getting capital punishment. The goons are being protected. This is an example of appeasement politics. I was with the victims’ family since after the day of the incident and they are not happy with the sentencing. The family is preparing to move to High Court.”
