The police in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district on Monday arrested two men in connection with the murder of a father and son in West Bengal’s Murshidabad during violence that erupted amid protests against the Waqf Amendment Act, The Indian Express reported.

Harogobind Das, 72, and his 40-year-old son Chandan Das were killed by a mob on April 11 in the district’s Samserganj area.

The two men arrested on Monday were identified as Bani Israel and Sefaul Haque. They hail from the Sulitala village in the Murshidabad district.

At the request of the West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force, the Banharpali Police in Jharsuguda carried out raids, and took the two accused men in custody, The Hindu quoted Jharsuguda Superintendent of Police Parmar Smit Parshottamdas as saying.

“During the apprehension, one pistol was found in the possession of the accused persons, and they attempted to flee from police custody,” Parshottamdas said.

The officer said that the police filed four rounds as warning shots in the air to deter them from escaping. “Due to the quick response of the police team, both accused were successfully apprehended,” he said.

The widow of Harogobindo Das alleged in the first information report that a mob had dragged her husband and son out of their home and murdered them. “Though there were many people, the murder was committed by few people,” she alleged in the FIR, naming five suspects.

Earlier, on April 15, the West Bengal Police had arrested two other individuals – Asmaul Nadab, alias Kalu Nadab, and Dildar Nadab – for the murder.

While Kalu Nadab was among the initial suspects named in the police complaint, his brother Dildar was not.

Violence broke out in Murshidabad on April 11 and 12 during protests against the Waqf Amendment Act passed by Parliament on April 4. Three persons, including Chandan and Hargobind Das, were killed in the violence.

The third fatality was that of a man named Ijaz Momin, who was allegedly shot dead by the police in the Suti town in Murshidabad.

The rioting led hundreds of Hindus, who are a minority in Murshidabad district, to flee to neighbouring Malda.

The Waqf Amendment Act curbs the authority of waqf boards and allows greater government control over them. Critics allege that the amended law violates the right to equality and the freedom to manage religious affairs.

A waqf is an endowment under Islamic law dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property.

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