Kolkata, Feb 12 (IANS) The Trinamool Congress on Thursday rejected the Pune Police’s claim that a migrant worker from West Bengal was killed in a drunken altercation, even as party national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee is scheduled to visit the deceased’s residence in Purulia on Friday.
Pune Police issued a statement earlier in the day regarding the death of Sukhen Mahato, a migrant worker from Purulia district, stating that he was allegedly under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
According to the police, Mahato got into a fight with two persons while in an intoxicated state. The Maharashtra Police said that initial investigations suggest he was killed following that altercation. However, the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal dismissed this version, alleging that the police were attempting to put forward such a theory to “save face”.
In recent months, allegations have surfaced regarding harassment of migrant workers from West Bengal in several BJP-ruled states, including Maharashtra. There have also been allegations of targeted attacks and murders. The TMC claimed that Bengali-speaking migrant workers were being attacked for their language and identity. Similar allegations have been raised by the family of the deceased in the Pune incident.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also reacted to the incident on social media, alleging that a young man was tortured to death because of his language, identity and roots.
Following her post, Pune Police issued a detailed statement, stating that the incident took place on Monday night. Mahato was employed at a local company. On the day of the incident, he left home at around 3 p.m. to go to work, but, according to the police, he did not report for duty.
The police claimed that instead of going to work, Mahato was moving around the Koregaon area of Pune in an intoxicated condition.
Inspector Deepratan Gaikwad of Shikrapur police station in Pune said that Mahato got into an argument with two persons while allegedly drunk on the day of the incident.
“In the initial investigation, we suspect that he was killed by two persons after that argument. We have CCTV footage in which the deceased is seen arguing with two persons in an intoxicated state. However, the actual attack was not captured on CCTV. Later, he was found lying near the spot. He was killed with a sharp-edged weapon,” the officer said.
The police maintained that the murder appeared to have stemmed from a drunken argument and that no other motive had emerged so far. They added that efforts were under way to trace and arrest the accused.
After the Pune Police statement became public, it was confirmed that Abhishek Banerjee would visit Purulia on Friday to meet Mahato’s family.
Meanwhile, TMC leaders reiterated their rejection of the police version. State minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said, “The incident that has happened in Maharashtra is not an isolated one. For the past few months, Bengalis have been continuously harassed and killed in various states for speaking Bengali. When we raise these allegations, the police of the BJP-ruled Maharashtra government try to put forward a different theory to save face. It will not serve any purpose. Everyone knows what is happening.”
–IANS
sch/pgh
