Hundreds cross Ganga to flee Murshidabad violence in Bengal

DHULIAN: Cries of "We need protection" punctuated the uneasy calm that descended Sunday on mixed-population neighbourhoods lining a 7km stretch of Bengal's Murshidabad that bore the brunt of clashes over the new Waqf law since Friday night.

As fear hung in the air, hundreds - mostly women and children - crossed the Ganga by boat to escape ground zero Dhulian to reach Malda's Baisnabnagar, where a school became their sanctuary.

Although no new clash was reported, SOS messages from across community lines clogged police and BSF helplines in the aftermath of the violence that claimed three lives and left many wounded.

Two local youths, Mizanur Rehman and Suleman Sk, remain missing. Their families claimed armed mobs abducted them. A 27-year-old man, Shamsher Nader, was hositalised with gunshot wounds.

In Jatrabad under Dhulian Municipality, Pompa Das, in her 30s, was widowed Friday after a mob hacked to death her husband Chandan (40) and father-in-law Hargobindo (74), both artisans who made clay idols of deities.