West Bengal invokes Goonda Act; 10 Muslims arrested over neet

Maktoob

July 26, 2026

The West Bengal government invoked the Goonda Act for the first time after clashes during the Kolkata NEET protest, with police arresting 11 people, including 10 Muslims, while student leaders alleged BJP-backed provocateurs triggered the violence.

The West Bengal government on Saturday said it had invoked the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2026, commonly known as the Goonda Act, against those accused of orchestrating violence during Friday’s protest march in Kolkata over the failures in the education sector under the Narendra Modi government, including the NEET-UG paper leak.

Making a statement in the Assembly, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said around 70 persons identified from the Dharmatala protest had “nothing to do with the student movement” and would face action under the law.

“They are not students, nor are they members of the organisation that called the programme. They came only to create disorder,” he alleged.

The law, invoked for the first time since its enactment, allows for the preventive detention of persons classified as “anti-social” for up to one year. Its constitutional validity is currently under challenge before the Calcutta High Court.

Adhikari said seven FIRs had been registered in connection with the violence. Police have arrested 11 persons, including 10 Muslims, from Kolkata and adjoining areas.

According to police, Md Afroz, a resident of Metiabruz, was arrested from Andal, while nine others were also detained.

Condemning the alleged attacks on journalists during the protest, Adhikari said the Goonda Act had been invoked to ensure exemplary punishment.

“I censure the attack on our journalist friends on behalf of the entire House. An attack on journalists is unacceptable. We will take such action under the Goonda Act that these goons and even their next three generations will remember it. This is precisely why this law was enacted,” he said.

According to the chief minister, as the procession reached Esplanade, shoes and water bottles were first thrown at police personnel and later at journalists covering the demonstration.

He alleged that protesters wanted to provoke a police lathicharge and the use of tear gas but claimed Kolkata Police had exercised restraint.

The march, organised by Left student organisations with support from the Kolkata unit of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), began at Sealdah and proceeded towards Dorina Crossing amid heavy security deployment. Police alleged that some participants hurled slippers and sticks at security personnel and attacked journalists during the rally.

Students’ Federation of India (SFI) state secretary Debanjan Dey condemned the attacks on journalists but alleged that the BJP had planted “agent provocateurs” to malign and derail the protest.

Dey also accused the Kolkata Police of using tear gas shells and batons against peaceful protesters, drawing parallels with police action against demonstrators in other states.

He claimed several members of Left student and youth organisations were injured and were undergoing treatment at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.

Alleging BJP involvement in the violence, Dey said video footage showed “saffron-clad BJP workers” throwing stones from atop a fire brigade vehicle and from the Moulali Yuva Kendra, where a BJP workers’ meeting was being held.

“When the students occupied Dorina Crossing, these agent provocateurs started throwing stones, shoes, sticks and bottles, molested girl students, and assaulted journalists,” Dey alleged, urging the administration to conduct an investigation and identify those responsible instead of “making hate speeches.”

The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2026, popularly known as the Goonda Act, allows authorities to detain individuals without trial for up to one year, issue externment orders requiring suspected offenders to leave specified districts, and attach properties linked to unlawful activities.

The legislation has been criticised by Opposition parties and civil rights groups, who argue that its sweeping preventive detention powers are vulnerable to political misuse and could be used to target critics and suppress dissent. Its constitutional validity is currently under challenge before the Calcutta High Court.

Responding to the news, Ratna Singh, spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party, which spearheaded the protest in Delhi, said: “We have received reports that protesters have been detained by the Assam Police and West Bengal Police. It is also being alleged that many of those detained are Muslims. If these reports are accurate, any targeting of individuals on the basis of religion would be unlawful and deeply concerning.”