The suspect is undergoing interrogation and CCTV footage of the area is under scrutiny, a senior official has said.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — A Muslim man died this week after being mercilessly beaten on suspicion of theft in Chandannagar’s Harijan Palli area in West Bengal’s Hooghly district.
Sheikh Nazrul, 40, was declared brought dead at the Chandannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital where he was rushed after sustaining severe injuries in the thrashing he received from a flower merchant, Shanu Chattopadhyay, also known as Bhola, and several others.
According to the police, Bhola grew suspicious of Nazrul, suspecting him of theft.
Nazrul was slapped, kicked, and punched near the Swagatam Lodge in Harijan Palli. He fell critically ill due to the severe beating. Nazrul’s son, Sheikh Rahul, who was also accompanying him, managed to rescue the victim and rushed him to the hospital. However, doctors there pronounced him dead, media reports reaching here on Friday said.
“My father used to work in a factory along Delhi Road and also engaged in buying and selling old iron parts. This morning, while transporting those parts towards Harijan Palli, the flower merchant Bhola accused my father of carrying stolen goods and began assaulting him. I fled from the spot. Later, upon returning with my uncle, I found my father lying on the road. When we transported him to the hospital, the doctors informed us of his demise,” Rahul was quoted in the media as saying.
A police team, led by Deputy Commissioner Chandannagar Ishani Paul, reportedly arrived at the scene and took in the accused for questioning. A case has been registered based on the family’s complaint and an investigation is underway.
“The accused Shanu Chattopadhyay, alias Bhola, has been apprehended. The suspect is undergoing interrogation, and CCTV footage of the area is under scrutiny,” Ishani Paul was quoted as saying.