In a suspected case of revenge killing, a man has been accused of hacking to death the person who allegedly murdered his brother nearly 10 years ago, police said on Monday.
The incident took place around midnight on Sunday at the Kendua ash pond of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd under the Farakka police station in Murshidabad district.
The deceased has been identified as 48-year-old Alam Sheikh, who worked as a night watchman at the ash pond.
Police said he was attacked with sharp weapons while on his way to work. The prime accused has been identified as Panna Sheikh. No arrests had been made till Monday morning.
According to the police, a murder took place in Jorapukuria village in 2015 following a village dispute. Alam Sheikh, along with several others, was accused of dragging Toufiq Sheikh — Panna Sheikh’s brother — out of his house and beating him to death. A case was registered at the Farakka police station, and Alam Sheikh was arrested. He was later released on bail after spending a considerable period in jail.
After Toufiq Sheikh’s killing, his elder brother, Panna Sheikh, reportedly fled the village, fearing retaliation. Police said he returned to Jorapukuria a couple of months ago after years of absence and had been living there since.
On Sunday night, when Alam Sheikh was heading to his workplace, he was allegedly intercepted by Panna Sheikh and a few others, who hacked him to death before fleeing the spot. Alam Sheikh died on the spot. Police later recovered the body and sent it to Jangipur Sub-Divisional Hospital for post-mortem examination.
“The body has been recovered and sent for autopsy. A murder case has been registered. Prima facie, it appears to be a case of revenge killing. We have launched a search operation to nab the accused,” a senior Jangipur police officer said.
Alam Sheikh’s elder brother, Nabi Sheikh — also a local leader of the Trinamool Congress — said the family had apprehensions after Panna Sheikh returned to the village. “We feared trouble after his return, but we never imagined he would brutally murder my brother,” he said.
Following the killing, tension prevailed in the area. Police personnel have been deployed and security has been tightened to prevent any untoward incident.
