Murshidabad (West Bengal), December 23, 2025: A fast-track 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 violent protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act earlier this year.
Special Public Prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee said the ruling marks the second conviction in a mob lynching case in the country and the first such verdict in West Bengal. The court also directed the state government to pay ₹15 lakh as compensation to the victims’ family.
The victims, 72-year-old Haragobinda Das and his 42-year-old son Chandan Das, were attacked and killed by a mob at their residence in Jafrabad village under Samserganj police station on April 12. The incident occurred amid widespread unrest in the district following the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Parliament.
The court had found all 13 accused guilty on Monday. Apart from life imprisonment for murder, each convict was also awarded 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for dacoity, another 10 years for house trespass, and five years for rioting. The court ordered that all sentences would run concurrently.
Chatterjee said the prosecution had sought the death penalty, arguing that the crime fell under the “rarest of rare” category. He added that the state government would decide whether to challenge the sentence in the Calcutta High Court.
Murshidabad witnessed intense violence between April 8 and April 12, prompting the deployment of central forces to restore law and order.
