The clashes between the two groups took place during a Ram Navami rally in Raghunathganj area of Mushidabad’s Jangipur. | Photo credit: ANI
Calcutta:
Two days after clashes during Ram Navami processions, the situation in Jangipur area of Murshidabad district is now calm, police sources said. Prohibitory orders were imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. Police said 31 people were arrested and 21 were injured in the clashes.
“The situation is calm now. We are analyzing the video and CCTV footage to identify more people and arrest them,” a senior police official told The Hindu on Sunday (March 29, 2026).
The clashes between the two groups took place on 27 March 2026 during a Ram Navami rally in Jangipur’s Raghunathganj area. Tension gripped the locality as the situation quickly escalated as incidents of stone pelting, arson and vandalism were reported. Security has been tightened.
Ahead of assembly polls, clashes in the assembly led to a heated exchange between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Union Home Minister Amit Shah exchanged barbs a day after violence rocked the north Bengal district.
“You (BJP) removed people (officers) under me and organized this riot. You should be ashamed. You looted shops, started arson… When one Shiv temple is broken, BJP makes so much drama. Breaking a temple is not right, I don’t support it. Who gave you the right to start riots in Raghunathganj?” Ms Banerjee said at a rally on Saturday (March 28, 2026).
Mamata’s protege
During her campaign, Ms Banerjee said people should not blame her for the violence that unfolded because all the police officers had been replaced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and she had no powers as the elected Chief Minister.
“I don’t know why the administration is not taking any action… BJP has selected officers,” the TMC supremo said at a rally in Pashchim Bardhaman’s Raniganj.
Hitting out at Ms Banerjee, Mr Shah said the number of such incidents had reduced after the ECI transferred some officers under the Mamata Banerjee government.
“The transfer of officers may look excessive in Bengal as many of them have become their (Mamata and TMC) cadres. But such transfers happen in every poll-bound state,” Shah added.
After elections were announced on March 15 and a model code of conduct was introduced, the EC transferred several top police and administrative officials from across West Bengal.
In the adjacent Malda district, viral footage showed young men carrying daggers and long knives in a Ram Navami procession, although there were strict restrictions on carrying such items in public gatherings.
Violence in Ram Navami processions is nothing new in West Bengal. In 2024, a crude bomb exploded in Shaktipur area of Murshidabad district during a Ram Navami procession. Earlier in 2023, violence broke out in Howrah’s Shibpur and Rishra in Hooghly and Dalkhola in North Bengal region during the Ram Navami procession.
Published – 29 March 2026 20:08 IST
