Murshidabad, West Bengal – April 14, 2025:
Tensions that culminated in communal violence on the streets of Murshidabad this week were preceded by a disturbing wave of online activity on WhatsApp groups and social media platforms, authorities revealed.
According to police and local administration, provocative messages, hate speech, and inflammatory videos began circulating days before the violence broke out. Several of these digital traces are now part of an ongoing investigation, with cybercrime units working to trace the origin of the content and identify individuals responsible for inciting unrest.
Eyewitnesses and local residents claim that warnings were ignored, despite multiple reports of online threats and calls for “retaliation” surfacing in closed WhatsApp groups and public Facebook pages. “We saw it coming. The posts were becoming increasingly aggressive,” said a resident who wished to remain anonymous.
The district administration has now intensified digital surveillance and has appealed to the public to refrain from sharing unverified or incendiary content.
Senior officials stressed the role of social media in modern-day flashpoint violence and called for stronger mechanisms to detect and prevent communal incitement online.
No official casualty count has been released yet, but the situation remains tense, with heavy police deployment and curfew-like restrictions in several areas of Murshidabad.
