The West Bengal government will enforce its newly approved anti-crime bill from July 13 following its assent by Governor Syed Shahed Ahmed, said Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday.
The law comes in the wake of two major Bills presented in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in June 2026 — the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-social Activities Bill, 2026 and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The new regime phrases to give the authorities the right to detain people proactively for up to one year, without trial, in exceptional circumstances, where organized crime and antisocial activities are concerned. Secured in the revised public order legislation also is the ability of the state to seizing of confiscated properties of convicted persons and auctioning them so that a financial balance of a victim can be made.
The West Bengal government believes the new laws are similar to those in other states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bihar. This was done, according to the officials, after reports of protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act and the Beldanga riots in 2025.
Additionally, the Chief Minister ordered district administration and the police to let go the Hindu refugees who were found entering into the India-Bangladesh border without authority and trapped in Indian prisons. He told authorities to play a unified role in expediting them released by public prosecutors.
Furthermore, the state government has demanded that police should be proactive in the prosecution of offences against women and in all border areas, examination of cases of human trafficking. The police has been told to cooperate with the Advocate General’s office to fast-track pending appeals and ensure the offenders are brought to book.