Murder accused's house vandalised in Bengal

The house of a TMC panchayat member's husband was vandalised by protesters after he allegedly pushed a woman to death on Tuesday night. Protesters demanded death penalty for the accused.

Howrah (West Bengal): Protesters on Thursday vandalised the house of a TMC panchayat member's husband who was among two persons arrested for allegedly pushing a woman to her death when she tried to stop them from molesting her daughter, in West Bengal's Howrah district, police said.

BJP activists staged a protest with the woman's body outside the Uluberia sub-divisional court, demanding the death penalty for the accused, they said.

No lawyer represented the accused when they were produced before the court, which sent them to 14-day judicial custody.

As the BJP cadres took the woman's body to her Gopalpur Shibtala village, a few activists of the saffron party and some locals staged a protest in front of the accused's house.

Suddenly, someone from inside the house threw a sharp object at the agitators in which one of the deceased's relatives got injured, local BJP leader Premangshu Rana said.

Incensed over the fresh incident, the protesters vandalised the accused's house and the situation normalised only after additional police forces were deployed, he said.

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State BJP Mahila Morcha president Agnimitra Paul, Amta's Congress MLA Asit Mitra and CPI(M) leader Kaninika Ghosh also visited the village.

Paul called on the women to protect themselves from "TMC goons" with whatever weapon was in hand.

Bagnan's TMC MLA Arunava Sen said that the accused will be punished and nobody should take the law into their hands.

The two accused had allegedly tried to molest a college student while she was alone on the terrace of her house in the village on Tuesday night.

When her mother rushed upstairs on hearing her screams, the accused had allegedly pushed her down. She was critically injured and later died on the way to the hospital.

The victim said she had recognised one of the accused as the local panchayat member's husband before the duo fled the scene.

The TMC expelled the man from the party amidst claims by the panchayat member that her husband was being framed.

PTI