Kolkata, Apr 17 (PTI) The West Bengal Police has arrested one of the masterminds behind the brutal murder of a father and son at Jaffarabad in Murshidabad district during violent anti-Waqf Act protests, taking the total number of arrests to three, a senior officer said on Thursday.

Inzamul Haque, a resident of the neighbourhood where the killings took place, was apprehended from Suti area of the district late on Wednesday after night-long raids, Additional Director General (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar said.

“He was not only involved in planning the gruesome crime, but also played a key role in tampering with evidence by snapping power supply and destroying CCTV cameras in the area,” Sarkar said.

The double murder of Haragobindo Das (72) and his son Chandan (40), who were hacked to death in front of their house by a mob on Friday as protests in the state against the Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent in Murshidabad, sparked widespread tension and fuelled communal riots in parts of the district.

Sarkar stopped short of specifying whether the twin murders were planned in advance or they were perpetrated as part of a spontaneous spree of violence on grounds that these were “early stages of investigation”.

The state police formed an 11-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Murshidabad DIG Syed Waquar Raza to probe this and other cases of violence in the district.

Earlier this week, police had arrested two brothers, Kalu Nawab and Dildar Nawab – also residents of the same locality – in connection with the crime.

While Kalu was arrested from a village near the India-Bangladesh border in Suti, Dildar was picked up from Murarai in Birbhum near the Jharkhand border.

The SIT, police said, will investigate all aspects of the incidents of violence that claimed three lives, led to the destruction of properties, and caused life-threatening injuries, prompting hundreds of Hindu families to flee to neighbouring districts and states.

The officer informed that 278 people have been arrested across the district so far in connection with the riots.

“I reiterate, no one involved in this heinous act will be spared. All perpetrators will be brought to justice with quick convictions,” the ADG asserted.

Sarkar said no fresh incidents of violence have been reported in the last four days, and normalcy is gradually returning to the affected areas in the district.

He also informed that 85 families who had fled their homes have now returned, and the state administration is working round the clock to provide them with necessities to restart their lives and ensure their safety.

“Camps of both the state police and central agencies continue to function in the affected areas to instill a sense of security,” he said.

The ADG said that Samsherganj — one of the worst-hit areas — is also gradually returning to normal, with nearly 70 per cent of the shops reopened. “Jangipur is also peaceful and stable,” he noted.

“Confidence is building slowly, and as we speak, more families are returning home,” Sarkar added. PTI BSM SMY RBT