One of the prime accused in the murder of a man and his son in violence-hit Murshidabad district in West Bengal was arrested, police said on Sunday. This was the fourth arrest in the killing of the two at Jafrabad in Shamsherganj, a senior officer said. On April 11, during protests over the Waqf Act in Murshidabad, a father-son duo — Harogobindo Das and Chandan Das — were found murdered with multiple stab wounds at their residence in the Jafrabad locality of Shamsherganj.
Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police along with the Special Investigating Team (SIT) arrested the accused, identified as Ziaul Sheikh, a resident of Sulitala Purbapara, the neighbouring village of Jafrabad. He has been on the run since the crime took place on April 12 and was arrested from his hideout in Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur district on Saturday. "This person is one of the prime accused who had conspired and instigated a mob to carry out vandalism at the residence of the deceased and killed Haragobindo Das and his son Chandan Das on April 12," the officer told PTI.
Fourth arrest so far
As per the police, all evidence including CCTV footage, and his mobile phone tower location prove his presence at the crime spot on April 12. Earlier, the police had arrested two brothers, Kalu Nadar and Dildar, and Inzmam Ul Haque in connection with their involvement in the killing of the father-son duo.
Kalu was arrested from Murarai in Birbhum district, his brother Dildar was held from the Bangladesh border area under the Suti Police Station jurisdiction. The third accused was apprehended from Suripara, a neighbouring village of Jafrabad. "We have lodged over 100 FIRs in the Murshidabad violence cases. We have so far arrested 276 people in these cases," the officer added. At least three people were killed in connection with violence amid recent protests over the amendments to the Waqf Act.
'Hindu families were marked'
BJP leader Amit Malviya claimed that Hindu families in West Bengal's Murshidabad district were systematically targeted during riots. In a post on X, Malviya said that homes belonging to Hindu residents were marked with ink and kept under watch before being torched. "Shocking details emerging from Murshidabad! Before the arson attacks began, homes belonging to Hindu families were marked with ink and kept under close watch. After days of surveillance, these properties were systematically torched," Malviya wrote on X. He also added that such incidents frequently happen specially on Fridays.
"Reports suggest that two local Muslim residents supplied key information to the attackers, helping them pinpoint Hindu-owned houses and shops. Disturbingly, similar targeted violence is said to occur regularly, particularly on Fridays," he added.