Purulia (Bengal): The family of a Muslim street hawker who was allegedly hacked to death with an axe in Purulia district have claimed that his murder is linked to the atmosphere of anti-Muslim hatred and fear that has swept into Bengal in recent times. Police have denied religious hatred played a role.
“It is because of this climate of fear that my father was murdered,” said Zulfikar, the 20-year-old son of 47-year-old Akbar Mondal, the hawker who was killed on June 9. The Wire spoke to Zulfikar on June 10 as he was carrying his father’s body back to his village of Punisol in neighbouring Bankura district.
The area is commonly referred to as ‘Jangalmahal’ – forested land which has played home to significant political movements in the past.
Zulfikar had been forced by poverty to abandon his education, and worked, like his father, as a hawker in the Bandwan region of Purulia district. The crime has shaken his family and village alike, he said.
Zulfikar said at one the morning of June 9, Akbar was hawking steel utensils on his cart when he was suddenly dragged into a house in Supurdihi village. Inside, he was attacked by a man who was unknown to Akbar. Zulfikar said that the man first beat Akbar with a stick and then, when he tried to defend himself, struck him with an axe. Akbar was also struck with a dagger, Zulfikar said he had learnt.
“At around noon, an officer from Bandwan Police Station called me and said, ‘Your father has been murdered. Come to Bandwan Hospital immediately’,” said Zulfikar.
Zulfikar was hawking his own share of household goods in another village at the time. “When I reached the hospital, I saw my father’s body. His head had been smashed open. The sight was horrific. Blood had covered almost his entire body. The doctors told me that Akbar Mondal had died long before he was brought to the hospital,” Zulfikar said.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.