Tensions have escalated in the Kanchanpur area under Kanksha Police Station, West Burdwan District, following the discovery of the body of a 46-year-old sharecropper, Chandrasekhar Mondal. Locals reported that Mondal, a resident of Malandighi, had been missing since Saturday evening.
On Sunday evening, they found his lungi and a gamcha near a paddy field. Upon further investigation, they discovered his body lying in the field with a gamcha tied around his neck. Shantiram Mondal, the deceased’s brother, alleged that his brother might have been killed due to accusations of mobile phone theft.
He urged the authorities to punish the culprits. The incident follows a heated argument between Mondal and another local youth, Uttam Hanri, over a stolen phone. Hanri accused Mondal of stealing his phone, a claim that Mondal vehemently denied. The phone was later recovered from a receiver who allegedly purchased it from Mondal. Shantiram alleged that Uttam and his family had threatened to kill Chandrasekhar the previous evening.
Agitated locals have staged a protest, gheraoing the Kanksha Police Station, demanding the deployment of sniffer dogs and the arrest of the culprits. Abhishek Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) of Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate, stated that the cause of death is yet to be determined. The body has been sent for post-mortem, which will be conducted on Monday morning. Kanksha Police Station has initiated an investigation into the matter but has not made any arrests so far.