Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan on Saturday announced Rs. 5 lakh compensation to the family of the migrant labourer, Afrajul Khan (48) from Bengal, who was hacked to death and burned in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand region.
The accused, Shambunath Raigar, had hacked Afrajul to death and later set him afire, and filmed the whole incident and warned ‘love-jihadis’ of a similar fate.
On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced aid to the family of a labourer from Bengal.
Mamata Banerjee in a series of tweets on Twitter announced Rs. 3 lakh aid to the bereaved family and a government job to an eligible member of the family.
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Mamata had also said that all other from assistance will be provided by the government to the family and a team of MPs and minister will visit the family.
State Transport Minister Subhendu Adhikari and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim are expected to visit the deceased’s house, along with other ruling party leaders on Saturday morning.
Confirming that Banerjee had a word with the deceased’s widow through his phone, Malda District Magistrate Kaushik Bhattacharya said the administration was taking necessary steps to help the family.
“We are trying to start an immediate pension for the family. We are also trying to arrange a job for one of the three girls of the deceased, as instructed by the Chief Minister. We will try to aid the struggling family as much as possible,” Bhattacharya said.
Mamata condemns attack
On Thursday, Mamata Banerjee condemned the killing of a labourer from West Bengal, who was burnt alive to “save a girl from ‘love jihad’”.
Accused in custody
The attacker has been identified as Shambunath Raigar, a resident of Rajsamand and police are interrogating the accused, according to Rajsamand Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar.
“Prima facie, it appears that Regar killed the man and the man was dead when he set the body on fire,” said Manoj Kumar.
Earlier, State Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria while confirming the development had said that the accused has been arrested and a special investigation team (SIT) has been set up to investigate the case.
Investigation are underway to identify the third person, who shot the video.
Internet services were suspended in Rajsamand region of Rajasthan to stop the circulation of the video clips that were posted on WhatsApp, allegedly by the killer. A video of the assault went viral on social media on Wednesday.
The charred body of the Muslim labourer was found by locals near a road in Rajsamand around 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
In the video, which cannot be independently verified for its authenticity, it can be seen that Shambunath Raigar wearing red-shirt and white pants leading the labourer to a spot. Later, he attacks the labourer with an axe repeatedly and burns the body after pours inflammable substance on it.
The accused after carrying out the attack can be heard making inflammatory and communal remarks.
According to media reports, the Rajnagar Police have registered a case under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearing of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
(With agency inputs)