"Situation remains tense but is under control": BSF DIG Nilotpal Pandey on Murshidabad violence

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 13 (ANI): Days after violence erupted in West Bengal's Murshidabad, Nilotpal Kumar Pandey, BSF DIG and PRO (South Bengal Frontier), said that the situation remains tense but is under control.
Speaking to ANI, DIG Pandey said, "The situation remains tense, and people are fearful, but it is under control. Yesterday, many areas were in a tense state, but today, the situation has improved. We hope that with everyone's efforts, normalcy will be restored soon."
He said the Border Security Force (BSF) has deployed nine companies in Murshidabad's Suti and Samserganj areas following violent protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
"When the situation became tense in two Murshidabad Police Station areas, Suti and Samserganj, we mobilised our troops on the request of the administration. The next day, we added more troops. Today, nine of our companies are deployed in the two Murshidabad police station. We are present in all the hotspots. The order came from the administration itself. At that time, only two companies had been deployed because we had to respond immediately. People are scared," Pandey told ANI on Sunday.
He said that the situation escalated on Saturday in Samserganj, where BSF personnel were attacked with petrol bombs and stones.
"The situation became serious yesterday. There were regions in the Samserganj area where our teams were attacked with petrol bombs and stones. These (attackers) were the same people who have been making the whole situation tense. Today, the situation has improved. None of our BSF soldiers were seriously injured in the attack. However, certainly, one is bound to get small cuts and injuries when they are subjected to such a heavy rain of stones," he told ANI.
DIG Pandey said that the BSF is working to restore normalcy in the area.
"Our nine companies are deployed, and whenever we receive an SOS call from people in distress, scared and seeking help, we immediately send teams to those areas. People are frightened, and we are trying to calm them down," he said.
Three people were killed in the Murshidabad district following violent clashes linked to protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, the police said on Saturday.
West Bengal Police have arrested 150 individuals in connection with the Murshidabad violence. According to a police statement, adequate police forces have been deployed in Samserganj, Dhuliyan, Suti, and other affected areas to maintain order.
BJP MP from Purulia Jyotirmay Singh Mahato has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging the imposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, citing a deteriorating security situation and alleging targeted violence against the Hindu community.
On Saturday, a special bench of the Calcutta High Court ordered the deployment of central forces "immediately" in Murshidabad in the wake of widespread violence in the district during the protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act that resulted in three deaths so far. (ANI)