Father Dies After Attack at Home in Bankura, West Bengal; Political Parties Engage in Blame Game

Kolkata : A man died after he was allegedly thrashed by a group of assailants at his family home in West Bengal’s Bankura in an incident that has now triggered a political blame game between parties. The victim identified as Sheikh Mohammad Mafik, who is the father of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) volunteer Sheikh Abdul Hafiz was allegedly attacked at around 10 PM on August 13. This incident took place hours after Hafiz visited a local primary school for the CJP’s ‘School Theek Karo’ campaign. Sheikh Abdul Hafiz visited the school to check the educational system present there. That night, attackers entered his house and assaulted him with sticks, iron rods and crowbars. As Hafiz fled from his house the attackers allegedly proceeded to beat his father to death. Later, Mafik was rescued and admitted to hospital. However, he passed away after being transferred to Burdwan Medical College due to worsening health conditions. Mafik’s wife had filed a complaint, following which Police registered a murder case and arrested eight people for their involvement in the matter. Three out of eight arrested persons have been named in FIR. Three persons who were arrested in this case were presented before a district court . CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka alleged that BJP workers were behind the attack, “The Police must ensure the strictest action,” he added. However, BJP denied any involvement of their members in the killing. Bengal BJP leaders appealed for investigation of this matter to take appropriate action against those found guilty.