After student leader is killed in Howrah, students block road in Kolkata – Hindustan Times

A student leader of the Indian Secular Front was allegedly murdered at Amta in Howrah district, around 50 km west of Kolkata, by four unidentified people in the early hours of Saturday.

While one of the accused was wearing a police uniform and was carrying a firearm, the rest were wearing uniforms of civic volunteers. Family members alleged that the victim Anish Khan was thrown off from the second floor.

Following the incident, students of Aliah University blocked the seven-point Park Circus crossing in Kolkata and took out a candle light march. A scuffle broke out when the protestors tried to break the barricades set up by the police.

“It was around 12:30 am that four persons came to our house and identified themselves as policemen from the Amta police station. One of them stood with me at the ground floor. He was carrying a firearm. The other three took my son upstairs. Moments later I heard a huge thud and found that my son was lying in a pool of blood. As I raised an alarm, all the four persons fled,” said Salem Khan, the victim’s father.

Anish Khan was a student of Aliah University and a prominent face of the anti-NRC protests. He was earlier a leader of the SFI but later joined the ISF.

“We have started a murder case. No police personnel went to his house. If we need to interrogate somebody we call that person to the police station. Investigation is going on,” said a senior IPS officer of Howrah district.

Students of Aliah University blocked the road in Kolkata and demanded that the accused must be arrested at the earliest.

“Such incidents can only be seen in states like Uttar Pradesh. The assailants may have come from outside the state. Police will conduct a thorough investigation and arrest the culprits,” said Firhad Hakim, state minister.

“Just because I am an ISF legislator I won’t blame the ruling party. But the assailants had come wearing police uniform. If the police don’t arrest the culprits, people will lose their faith. The assailants must be identified and arrested,” said Naushad Siddiqui, ISF legislator.