31 arrested for Ram Navami clashes in Bengal district

Kolkata:

Police sources said that the situation in Murshidabad district’s Jangipur area is now peaceful, two days after clashes during the Ram Navami procession. Prohibitory orders were imposed under Article 163 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. Police officials said that 31 people were arrested and 21 people were injured in the clashes.

“The situation is currently peaceful. We are analyzing video and CCTV footage to identify more people and arrest them,” a senior police official said. Hindu On Sunday, March 29, 2026.

Clashes broke out between two groups during the Ram Navami rally in Raghunathganj area of ​​Jangipur on March 27, 2026. Tension prevailed in the area as the situation quickly escalated with incidents of stone-throwing, arson and vandalism being reported. Security has been tightened.

Clashes at the rally ahead of the Assembly elections led to heated debates between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were at loggerheads with each other a day after violence rocked the north Bengal region.

“You [BJP] removed persons [officers] He was under me and organized this rebellion. You should be ashamed. You looted shops, you started arson… When a Shiv temple is destroyed, the BJP creates a lot of drama. Destroying a temple is not right, I do not support it. Who gave you the right to riot in Raghunathganj?,” Ms. Banerjee said at a rally on Saturday, March 28, 2026.

Mamata’s accusation

During her campaign, Ms. Banerjee said people should not blame her for the violence that broke out because all police officers were replaced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and she had no authority as an elected Prime Minister.

“I don’t know why the administration is not taking action…BJP has hand-picked office bearers,” the TMC chief said at a rally in Pashchim Bardhaman’s Raniganj.

Mr. Shah hit back at Ms. Banerjee and said the number of such incidents had reduced after the ECI transferred some officers under the Mamata Banerjee government.

“The transfer of officers in Bengal may seem excessive because most of them have become their cadres. [Mamata and TMC]. But such transfers are happening in every poll-bound state,” Mr. Shah added.

The EC has transferred several senior police and administrative officers from across West Bengal after the elections were announced on March 15 and the Model Code of Conduct was implemented.

In the adjoining Malda district, viral images showed young men carrying daggers and long knives in the Ram Navami procession, but there were strict restrictions against carrying such objects at public rallies.

Violence during Ram Navami processions is not new in West Bengal. In 2024, a crude bomb explosion occurred in Shaktipur area of ​​Murshidabad district during the Ram Navami procession. Before this, in 2023, violence had broken out in Howrah’s Shibpur and Rishra in Hooghly and Dalkhola in north Bengal district during the Ram Navami procession.