Kolkata: The brutal murder of Afrazul Khan in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district two days ago has sparked protests and tension at his village in Bengal’s Malda district. After Friday prayers, a large number of Muslim villagers gathered at his house in Saiyadpur and demanded stern action against the accused.
Afrazul (50) was brutally slayed with an axe before he was set on fire alive by a civil contractor identified as Shambulal in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand village. Shambulal had made a video of the murder that has since gone viral. He has been arrested and charged under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
Many who had gathered at the house, including the victim’s cousin Nur Islam, suspected a larger conspiracy behind the murder.
“The accused screamed into the camera ‘tum log jihadi ho… tum sab ka bura haal hoga’. We suspect a larger conspiracy. The arrested person is just a small fry. Today, political leaders from Congress, TMC, CPI (M) came here but no BJP leader turned up,” he said. He demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervene in the case.
Afrazul’s daughters Josnara Bibi, Rezina Khatoon and Hasiba also demanded a high-level probe. “My father was struggling hard to earn money for us and he was killed in such a manner. Surprisingly, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan (Vasundhara Raje) didn’t even bother to make any statement in this matter,” said Josnara Bibi.
She said that a large number of people from their village work in Rajasthan and other parts of the country. “I would like to request all the states that we are peace loving people and we don’t want to be killed,” she said, adding, “We are thankful to our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for providing us relief and offering a job.”
Afrazul’s wife, Gulbahar Bibi, said the accused should be hanged publicly for the barbarity. She also ruled out the ‘Love Jihad’ angle.
“This is false and fabricated to save the real culprits behind the incident. My husband was never involved in any such case. He was working as a labourer in Rajasthan for the last 20 years and never faced such problems before. This is a part of big conspiracy and I suspect somebody big is behind the incident,” she said.
She said that the day Afrazul was killed, she had received a call from him around 8.30am. He told her that he had sent her some money and asked her to withdraw it from the bank. He also inquired about his daughters. This was their last conversation.
She said that other labourers from the area working in Rajasthan told her that the accused called Afrazul around 12pm and asked him to meet him to discuss a road construction job in Rajsamand area close to the DM’s bungalow.
“Afrazul went happily and the accused took him to a jungle area and parked his scooter. He asked my husband to walk ahead and Shambulal hit him with an axe. What happened after that is there in front of you. It is a barbaric act. I have never heard of an incident like this before. The accused should be hanged publicly,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee has directed Bengal DGP to talk to his counterpart in Rajasthan to ensure the safety of over 3,000 migrant workers working there. Malda’s SP
Arnab Ghosh assured the family members that he will get in touch with the Rajasthan police to ascertain the motive behind the incident.
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