Birbhum: Murder witness killed, 8 TMC men booked

Hiralal was rescued by the police, but succumbed to injuries Saturday.

A 35-year-old farmer — the prime witness to the murder of Jia Sheikh, a CPM worker, in Birbhum village in 2011 — was hacked to death Friday. An FIR has been lodged against eight Trinamool Congress workers —six of whom are accused in the 2011 murder case. One accused has been arrested.

TMC workers allegedly attacked Hiralal Sheikh with sharp weapons after they spotted explosives near the venue of CM Mamata Banerjee’s election meeting in Suri. They claimed Hiralal had planted the explosives.

Hiralal was rescued by the police, but succumbed to injuries Saturday. His scan report stated his skull was broken into two, said Hiralal’s elder brother Anarul Sheikh.

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It is learnt a group of TMC supporters on their way to the meeting ground at Suri spotted a tiffin box with some wires. Four gelatine sticks and batteries were recovered, sparking violence. The mob attacked a CPM worker at Dangalpara. Hiralal, who was riding pillion on a motorcycle to his village, was stopped and dragged to the spot where the explosives were found and assaulted.

“Local TMC leaders had threatened Hiralal many times and asked him not to become a witness in the murder case. This is a pre-planned murder,” said Anarul.

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