Raj killer’s brutality shocks his locality Didi announces job, ₹3L for victim’s kin
HATE MURDER Accused Shambu Lal was unemployed and has a tattoo of his mentally challenged daughter on chest; some neighbours say he’s a disturbed man
RAJSAMAND: In Regar mohalla, home to Shambu Lal Regar, the Rajasthan man who uploaded a chilling video of himself hacking and burning migrant worker Afrazul on Wednesday, most of his neighbours had no inkling that he was capable of committing such a crime.
In the dusty locality with open drains and stray cows, the residents learnt about Shambu’s arrest from newspapers. “We had no idea he could do such a thing. He didn’t seem to be the kind of man who could murder someone,” said Rakesh Kumar, who owns a pan shop.
By some accounts, Shambu is a disturbed man. He has a palmsized tattoo on his chest of his 12-year-old mentally challenged daughter holding a globe in her hand, one of his neighbours, a middle-aged man told HT.
“The daughter is mentally challenged and he knew that she wouldn’t get married. He knew she will always live with him so he got her picture inked on his chest,” said another neighbour, an elderly woman.
The daughter is said to be very attached to Shambu and wouldn’t leave him when he was home. The girl, one of Shambu’s three children, has been crying and throwing up since his arrest, the woman said.
“Shambu used to get up early every day and go to Nauchauki lake for yoga for an hour,” said one of his brothers Nirmal , who works as a lab technician at a clinic. Another brother Lokesh refused to talk.
Neighbours say Shambu was engaged in the marble business earlier but was unemployed for more than two years and his brothers supported him financially. The elderly woman claimed that he even ‘rescued’ a young woman who had run away to Bengal with a Muslim man.
“He would roam about mostly. Sometimes he would come with sindoor (vermillion) on his forehead, at other times, it would be sandalwood paste. He had become a little eccentric since he brought the girl back from Bengal,” the elderly woman said.
Anita (name changed on request) had ‘eloped’ with one Mohd Babloo Sheikh to Bengal in 2010 when she was 13. She says the man used magic to influence her into going with him to Sayadpur village in Malda.
She adds that the place where she lived was dangerous. “They can kill people easily,” she says.
In 2012, Shambu volunteered to bring her back .
“When he came there, I told him to go back and that I would return on my own. I came 15 days after his visit yet he took ₹10,000 from my mother as a price for the ‘rescue’,” says Anita, who considers Shambu a brother.
Shambu’s neighbours say he was getting threats from Afrazul, who also hailed from Sayadpur village, because he had taken Anita away from a fellow Bengali. After he brought the girl back to Rajsamand, Bengali labourers had beaten him up. Shambu fractured his hand in the attack, they claimed. His wife did not talk to the media.
ACCUSED IN 3-DAY POLICE CUSTODY
A local court on Friday sent Shambu Lal to three days in police custody.
He will be produced in court on December 10 again, station house officer, Rajnagar, Ramsumer Meena said. MALDA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced ₹3 lakh compensation and a government job to the family of Mohammed Afrazul, a migrant labourer from the state who was killed in Rajasthan.
Afrazul was hacked to death and his body set on fire in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district by a man who warned ‘jihadis’ of similar treatment. The entire act was filmed by the man’s minor nephew and uploaded on social media. Accused Shambu Lal Regar was arrested and a court on Friday remanded him in three days police custody. His nephew has been sent to a juvenile home.
“Very sad incident happened in Rajasthan. Afrajul Khan of Malda of our state was brutally killed. His family is totally helpless. As a small help to the bereaved family, our government has decided to provide ₹3 lakh to the family,” Banerjee tweeted.
“Also one job to an eligible person of the victim’s family. Other help from the government will also be provided. I am sending our team of Ministers and MPS to visit the family,” she added.
State transport minister Subhendu Adhikari and urban development minister Firhad Hakim, accompanied by party MPS Saugata Ray, Sudip Bandyapadhyay, and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, will visit Afrazul’s house at Malda district on Saturday. Banerjee also spoke to the family over phone.
At least three protest rallies were taken out in Kolkata — one of them in front of the Rajasthan Bhawan in Alipore. A rally was held from Jadavpur to Park Circus and another was organised at Hedua in north Kolkata.
The family members of the victim, meanwhile, trashed the ‘love jihad’ angle to the incident. The deceased’s relative Gaji Azizul said Afrazul was staying in Rajasthan for about 20 years. “He stayed in a rented house with his two sons-in-law and used to take up construction work. Afrazul used to leave the house with his sons-in-law and returned with them. Never did anyone tell us that he was seen with any woman. The ‘love jihad’ angle is bunkum,” he added.
“Today, district magistrate, SP and some other officers visited our house and informed us of the steps the CM has taken. We are happy with that. Now we want the government to ensure speedy trial of case” said Rezina Khatun, one of Afrazul’s daughters.