A new chargesheet in a ten-year-old case has named BJP leader Mukul Roy as a provocateur in the murder of three persons. Mr. Roy has described this as “an act of political vendetta”.
The main accused, Birbhum district’s BJP leader Monirul Islam, is named in the chargesheet. Former Forward Bloc leader and Trinamool Congress ex-MLA Mr. Islam, a close aide of Mr. Roy, was recently inducted into the BJP. Mr. Roy was instrumental in inducting Mr. Islam, a decision severely criticised by a powerful section within the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP.
In June 2010, three brothers — Koton Sheikh, Dhanu Sheikh and Turuk Sheikh of Birbhum — were allegedly killed by Mr. Islam over a sand mining dispute. Mr. Islam is reported to have said at a public rally that he “squashed the brothers under his feet”.
Issued threats
Mr. Islam is known for publicly threatening his political opponents and had also reportedly threatened to “behead” a local Congress leader.
Despite his past, Mr. Islam was acquitted by a lower court in the case. A fresh appeal was filed by the brother of one of the deceased to reopen the case and in September 2019, the High Court instructed the police to re-investigate the case.
TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said that his party has “nothing much to add [as] administration is doing its job”.
The family of the deceased, particularly the mother of the murdered men Zarina Biwi, welcomed the court’s decision.
