Fearful kin want Afrazul’s case to be tried in Bengal

BERHAMPORE (WEST BENGAL): The family of Afrazul Khan, who was brutally hacked and then burnt alive by a man in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district in an alleged hate crime, is planning to move the Calcutta high court seeking transfer of the case to West Bengal, citing fear over safety travelling to Rajasthan for the trial.

“We have held discussions with the lawyers. Local people will gather at our place tonight to decide on it. Some leaders from the Congress and the (ruling) Trinamool Congress are also expected to attend the meeting,” said Rezina, the victim labourer’s daughter.

“We do not feel safe in going to Rajasthan at all. After the discussion with the neighbours tonight, we will seek West Bengal government's help in seeing that the trial is held in West Bengal,” the chief minister added.

Khan, 50, is survived by his wife and three daughters, two of them married and the youngest, Habiba Khatun, is in Class IX.

Rajasthan police have arrested Shambhu Lal Regar, the man who hacked Khan before setting him on fire while Khan was still breathing.

Regar’s nephew, a minor who recorded the video, has been sent to a home for juveniles.

Shakil Chowdhury, a neighbour, said that Khan’s family will also file a case with the state human rights commission. It is learnt that CM Mamata Banerjee has encouraged the family to move the human rights commission. Khan was killed on Wednesday and the video went viral on Thursday. His body reached his home at Kaliachak, Malda on Friday evening. The motive behind his killing remains unknown.

The West Bengal government has announced a grant of ~3 lakh to the family and a job for a member of the family. Rajasthan government, too, has announced a compensation of ~5 lakh.

Members of Khan's family, however, said they are yet to receive any communication from the Rajasthan government in this regard. Over the past couple of days, a number of political leaders belonging to the TMC, Congress and the Left Front have visited Khan’s home.

Rallies were taken out in Malda and Kolkata to protest the murder which the people of Bengal continued to hold on Saturday. The director general of Bengal police spoke to his counterpart in Rajasthan, requesting him to ensure the safety of migrant workers.