- A student leader named Anis Khan was killed in the midnight by some people wearing official uniforms
- West Bengal government’s SIT enquiry is not acceptable to Anis’ father and he has demanded a Court-monitored CBI enquiry
- The political killings are not limited to murder of BJP and RSS people in Bengal, instead, it spreads across party line
Mamata Banerjee’s TMC is infamous for crushing its political dissenters through Taliban style merciless murders. This time TMC goons seem to have killed a student leader called Anish Khan.
Student leader murdered
Salam Khan, an old man in Howrah district of Bengal is not ready to accept anything less than a CBI enquiry for his son’s murder. According to an FIR lodged by him, his son Anis Khan was killed by four unknown persons in the wee hours of 18th February 2022.
According to FIR by Salam, four people barged into his house at 1 AM on 19th February. One of them was wearing a Bengal Police uniform while three others were dressed up as civil volunteers. All four individuals wanted to know the details of Anis’ locations. Since Anis had few cases pending against him, Salam thought that they were sent by the government.
Salam told them that Anis had gone somewhere else for a party. However, they refused to believe him and held Salam at gunpoint. Then they went upstairs and killed Anis. “I heard a sound and found my child laying in a pool of blood below.”, said Salam. Salam also said that between 2 AM and 4 AM he called the nearest police station, but they did not respond to his calls. In spite of being situated 15 minutes away from his home, Police arrived at the crime scene only around 9 AM.
Read more: The state is burning and they are nowhere to be seen – The absolute apathy of West Bengal Police
Politics being played over murder
Meanwhile, due to his political background, the alleged murder has turned into a political controversy. Anis was an active student leader. For a major part of his life, he was connected with the much-derided Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of CPI-M. Later, he got associated with the Indian Secular Front (ISF), a party formed ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election of 2021.
Anish is believed to have actively campaigned against TMC in Bengal election for the Sanjukt Morcha which was formed by CPI-M and Congress. “He was leftist and fiercely critical of the government”, said Naushad, MLA from ISF party.
Anis’ family was offered bribe
If allegations and counter-allegations are anything to go by, Mamata Banerjee’s party has started to whitewash its’ cadres’ crimes. Amidst rising political tensions, Anis’ family has claimed that they were offered an opportunity to meet Mamata Banerjee along with Job and money.
In a statement to Indian Express, Anis’ father said, “A man identifying himself as a representative of CM Mamata Banerjee had visited us on Sunday night, saying the government is ready to provide us with a job and compensation… an offer that I refused”. West Bengal government has denied these claims.
High Court takes cognisance
Mamata Banerjee’s government has decided to form a special investigation team (SIT) for inquiry. 2 cops and 1 Home guard Jawan have been suspended. However, Salam is not content with SIT probe. He wants a CBI probe under Court’s jurisdiction.
In the meantime, the Calcutta High Court has taken suo moto cognisance of the issue and asked the government for a response on 24th February. Court has termed the incident as ‘grave and shocking’
Political killings are not new in West Bengal. However, up until now, it was largely limited to people connected with BJP and RSS only. Anis’ murder shows that no one is safe under Mamata’s administration.