By Aparna Bhattacharya
Kolkata: Sheikh Abdul Hafiz had walked into a local village primary school and asked a few simple questions on whether the drinking water was clean, whether the toilets worked and what the children were struggling with.
That was August 13. By the night of August 15, his father, 46-year-old Sheikh Mohammad Mafik, was killed.
Mafik was allegedly beaten with sticks and iron rods by a group of men who attacked the family’s home in Karishunda village, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Indas Police Station in Bankura. According to the family, he was hit while trying to shield Hafiz from the attackers.
Police have arrested eight people, including a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader and booth president. A murder case has been registered.
‘Asked whether there were any problems’
The killing has shaken the area, local sources told The Wire.
Hafiz, 27, is an activist of the Cockroach Janata Party, and had been a part of the Jantar Mantar protests. He had gone to Karishunda Paschimpara Primary School as part of the party’s ‘School Thik Karo (fix the schools)’ campaign. Under the campaign, supporters would visit schools, talk to teachers and local people, and write down what was wrong.
“Abdul Hafiz went to the school in his village and asked whether there were any problems,” said Debipra Ganguly, a Bengal member of the CJP. “He asked the teacher if the children were facing difficulties with the toilets or drinking water. He wanted to start a campaign and asked for permission.”
On a social media, Hafiz claimed that a teacher – possibly referring to the headmaster, Kashinath De – gave him a time for an appointment the next day.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.