NEW DELHI: The head of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in the state of West Bengal has threatened to shoot and jail people who protest a new citizenship law that has triggered a month of nationwide demonstrations.
Dilip Ghosh, a member of India’s Parliament and the president of the BJP in West Bengal, made the comments to party members on Sunday in a district of the state that borders Bangladesh.
Cabinet Union Minister Babul Supriyo distanced the BJP from Ghosh’s comments, calling them “very irresponsible” on Twitter on Monday.
The citizenship law provides a path to naturalization for people from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, unless they’re Muslim.
Many Indians worry the law will be used in conjunction with a National Register of Citizens that could require all Indians to produce documents proving their origins, a challenge in a country where many people lack official records including birth certificates.
Ghosh called out West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee of the opposition All India Trinamool Congress party, comparing her government’s treatment of protesters to BJP-controlled governments in other Indian states.
Banerjee, one of several state chief ministers from opposition parties who have pledged not to comply with the citizenship law, has led massive street marches to protest it.
“Look at Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, our government has shot these demons like dogs,” Ghosh said.
“You will come here, eat our food, stay here and then damage property? We will beat you with (batons), shoot you and put you in jail,” he said, referring to demonstrators in West Bengal.
Twenty-three people have been killed nationwide since the citizenship law was passed Dec. 11. Massive protests erupted across the country, with Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam states the hardest hit.
Police in Assam have acknowledged fatally shooting five people, and Karnataka authorities offered compensation to the families of two men killed by police during protests.
Sixteen Muslims were killed in Uttar Pradesh on a single day after the BJP chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, promised to take “revenge” against protesters. Uttar Pradesh authorities have denied any responsibility for the deaths.
![]()
India’s ruling BJP lawmaker threatens to shoot protesters
Short Url
https://arab.news/y6zp5
India’s ruling BJP lawmaker threatens to shoot protesters
- Dilip Ghosh: “Look at Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, our government has shot these demons like dogs”
US ‘leading the fight’ against Southeast Asian scam compounds, FBI official says
BANGKOK: A senior FBI official said on Tuesday that the United States was “committed to leading the fight” against multi-billion dollar Southeast Asian fraud factories targeting Americans.
Scott Schelble, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s International Operations Division, was speaking at a press briefing after traveling to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where he visited several scam centers.
“It is impossible to fully grasp the magnitude of these operations until you see them yourself,” he said, referring to “industrial-scale” Chinese-led fraud factories that have proliferated across the region.
“Criminals should not believe that borders will protect them if they target Americans,” he said. “We know where you are and we are coming for you.”
* Chinese organized crime syndicates are targeting Americans with scams “every day” through “sophisticated, well-resourced criminal enterprises that exploit borders, technology, and vulnerable people to generate enormous profits,” Schelble said.
* The groups are “not bound by laws or geographical borders” and operate with “a degree of impunity because they take advantage of countries’ respective laws,” he said.
* The FBI has deployed agents to work with Thai police on a joint anti-scam taskforce which has disrupted networks, identified victims, and targeted supporting financial infrastructure, Schelble said.
* The FBI has partnered with Cambodian police in the past and hopes to leverage previous success to cooperate on scam compounds, he said, adding that he also had “fruitful discussions” with Vietnam.
* Scam centers are a regional issue and require regional cooperation, Schelble said. “The key is to make each area an inhospitable place for these compounds to operate.”
Scott Schelble, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s International Operations Division, was speaking at a press briefing after traveling to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where he visited several scam centers.
“It is impossible to fully grasp the magnitude of these operations until you see them yourself,” he said, referring to “industrial-scale” Chinese-led fraud factories that have proliferated across the region.
“Criminals should not believe that borders will protect them if they target Americans,” he said. “We know where you are and we are coming for you.”
* Chinese organized crime syndicates are targeting Americans with scams “every day” through “sophisticated, well-resourced criminal enterprises that exploit borders, technology, and vulnerable people to generate enormous profits,” Schelble said.
* The groups are “not bound by laws or geographical borders” and operate with “a degree of impunity because they take advantage of countries’ respective laws,” he said.
* The FBI has deployed agents to work with Thai police on a joint anti-scam taskforce which has disrupted networks, identified victims, and targeted supporting financial infrastructure, Schelble said.
* The FBI has partnered with Cambodian police in the past and hopes to leverage previous success to cooperate on scam compounds, he said, adding that he also had “fruitful discussions” with Vietnam.
* Scam centers are a regional issue and require regional cooperation, Schelble said. “The key is to make each area an inhospitable place for these compounds to operate.”
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.