BJP won Bengal promising to end TMC’s ‘jungle raj’; 5 months on, violence mounts

West Bengal's new BJP government, which just completed 150 days in office, is facing a growing law-and-order challenge barely five months after coming to power, ironically, with a promise to end what it had described as the Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s “jungle raj.”

The incidents have ranged from attacks on lawyers and teachers to assaults on police personnel, while educational institutions have repeatedly become flashpoints and ordinary people have been subjected to mob violence, prompting questions over West Bengal’s law-and-order situation even within the BJP’s state leadership and the RSS.

Early warning

More concerning is that there appears to be little improvement despite concerns being raised within the ruling establishment, with BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya repeatedly warning party workers against violence, extortion and using the party’s name to shield wrongdoing.

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The RSS, too, has sounded a note of caution. Its Bengali weekly Swastika warned recently that the BJP could lose public support if voters began to see it as another version of the TMC government they had rejected, arguing that even a small shift in that perception could have a large political impact.

The situation has reached a point where even those expected to uphold the law and protect its institutions have themselves become targets, with lawyers attacked inside court premises, police personnel assaulted while carrying out their duties and teachers facing violence inside schools.

Attack on lawyers

On October 3, a team of lawyers returning from West Midnapore after visiting families who claimed to have been displaced by political violence were stopped and attacked, with their vehicles vandalised and at least one lawyer injured.

The lawyers alleged that BJP supporters were behind the attack, a charge the party denied.

The incident came soon after another confrontation involving lawyers at Bankshall Court, where protesters attacked YouTuber Dipak Byapari with eggs when he was produced before the court.

Byapari was arrested in Coimbatore and brought to Kolkata on transit remand in a case over alleged objectionable remarks about West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Lawyers objected to the pelting of eggs inside the court premises, following which protesters assaulted four lawyers, triggering a scuffle. Two protesters have been arrested in connection with the assault.

Earlier, on September 22, at Baruipur court in South 24 Parganas, lawyer Sayan Banerjee, who was representing Students’ Federation of India (SFI) activists arrested after a clash at Bhangar College, was pelted with eggs by ABVP supporters, prompting the Calcutta High Court to take suo motu cognisance and seek reports from the district judge and the police.

Police not spared too

The police have also found themselves on the receiving end of violence.

On September 28, BJP Minority Morcha leader Sikandar Khan and three others entered Shibpur police station in Howrah, threatened police personnel and assaulted a policeman during a confrontation. Police registered a suo motu case and arrested the four the following day.

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In another disturbing incident that month, an assistant sub-inspector was seriously injured in Salar, Murshidabad, when a police team carrying out a raid on an alleged gambling den came under a bomb attack.

Earlier, in August, a BJP faction allegedly locked the main gate of Entally police station in Kolkata during a protest, obstructing police personnel and preventing them from freely entering or leaving the station.

The FIR alleged that the protesters used a chain and lock to block the entrance and threatened officers, allegations the party denied.

In August, police personnel trying to arrest robbery suspects in Pandaveswar, East Burdwan, were attacked by relatives and neighbours attempting to free the accused, with a police vehicle also vandalised.

In another incident at Khardah, a mob gathered outside the police station and attacked an accused in the RG Kar case while police were trying to protect him. The confrontation left several policemen injured.

Violence on campuses

Schools and educational institutions have similarly become sites of confrontation.

Last month, the headmaster of Jalpaiguri Zilla School was allegedly assaulted by Class 10 students following a dispute over the school meal. When police arrived to rescue him, students blocked their vehicle, and only after repeated persuasion did the officers manage to take the injured headmaster to hospital.

In Gopalnagar in North 24 Parganas, a parent was arrested in August after allegedly entering a school and assaulting a teacher with a belt following a dispute involving his son.

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The Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata witnessed repeated violence in recent days. On September 27, clashes broke out between students, faculty members and people linked to the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, leaving several people injured. The state government subsequently formed a six-member SIT to investigate the violence.

The tension flared again on Sunday (October 4), when members of the Bangiyo Hindu Jagaran Manch marched towards the institute, tried to breach police barricades and clashed with police. Stones and bottles were hurled towards students inside the campus, injuring several people, including police personnel and SRFTI faculty member Debashis Sensharma, who was reportedly hit by a brick.

Lynching, mob attacks

These incidents point to a growing willingness to challenge established authority, with people increasingly taking the law into their own hands.

On October 3, two men were lynched and three others injured in the Matigara-Bagdogra area of Darjeeling district after villagers allegedly suspected them of cattle theft, the latest in a series of mob-lynching incidents reported from the state.

A pickup van was set ablaze during the attack, with police investigating the circumstances. Mob attacks following allegations of religious conversion have also been reported from several parts of the state.

Christian organisations have documented a series of such incidents in recent months, while the India Hate Lab has recorded 60 incidents targeting Christians across 13 districts between May 13 and September 20, including raids on prayer meetings, homes and churches, as well as cases of assault, mob violence and vandalism.

Internal strife

The state’s long-running problem of political violence also shows little sign of easing, with clashes involving rival political groups, attacks on rallies and party offices, violence on campuses and attacks on the homes and supporters of opposition leaders.

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There have also been instances of factional violence within the ruling BJP, including two recent killings.

On September 26, BJP worker Samsher Biswas was beaten to death at a market in West Midnapore after a group allegedly attacked him and others with rods, sticks and bricks. The incident triggered allegations of a factional clash within the BJP, which the party denied.

Two days later, BJP booth president Chandan Bhalla was shot dead in Bolpur, Birbhum, after receiving a phone call from an unidentified person and leaving home. The CID and STF are investigating the killing, with police examining several possible motives, including a land-related dispute.