West Bengal Police Rejects Claims of 'Brutal Physical Assault' in Bankura Activist's Father's Death

The West Bengal Police has rejected claims that a 50-year-old Bankura resident died following a “brutal physical assault”, saying he had sustained only “a minor injury” during an alleged attack at his residence and later died after being admitted to a hospital following severe blood pressure fluctuations.

In a post on X, the police said that “misinformation” was being spread on social media about the August 13 incident that took place in Indas in Bankura district. The police claimed that the incident was not as brutal as it was made out to be, and that the victim's father, Sheikh Mohammed Mafik, had only sustained a minor injury during the alleged attack.

Laying out what it claimed to be the “facts”, the West Bengal Police said that on the night of August 13, a group of miscreants allegedly accosted Sheikh Abdul Hafiz at his home, purportedly in connection with his visit to Karisunda Paschimpara Primary School that morning to enquire about the school’s facilities. The police claimed that Mafik got self-admitted to Burdwan Medical College after experiencing severe blood pressure fluctuations on the morning of August 15.

“During the incident, Hafiz’s father, Sheikh Mohammed Mafik, sustained a minor injury that required a single stitch,” the police said. “On the morning of August 15, Mafik got self-admitted to Burdwan Medical College after experiencing severe blood pressure fluctuations,” the police added. “No life-threatening injury was found during his post-mortem examination.”

The police statement came a day after Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Ashutosh Ranka visited Indas and demanded the arrest of all those allegedly involved in the death of Mafik, whose 25-year-old son Hafiz is associated with the CJP. The CJP has been alleging that those involved in the August 13 assault on Mafik and his family members were associated with the BJP as they were irked

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The BJP has so far denied organisational involvement in the incident with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari saying that all those named in the FIR are criminals and will face stringent action. The CJP has given the West Bengal government 10 days to arrest all those allegedly involved in Mafik’s death and demanded that all necessary legal sections be invoked against them.

“Those involved in the assault were certainly affiliated with the BJP,” said Ankit Bhardwaj, the CJP’s east and northeast zone in-charge. “We have eyewitness accounts and the names and photographs of some of the accused which can be matched with their profiles and the FIRs to establish their political affiliation.”

However, the CJP did not provide any independent documentary evidence to substantiate the claim during the interaction.

The West Bengal Police has launched a thorough investigation into the incident and arrested eight individuals — three named in the initial FIR and five additional suspects — all of whom have been remanded to eight days of police custody. The police also said that active manhunts were underway for two remaining absconding suspects, and a police house guard has been placed at Hafiz’s residence.

The incident has sparked widespread outrage in the CJP circles, with many members demanding strict action against those allegedly involved in Mafik's death. The CJP has also demanded that the government build a “world-class” school in Hafiz's village and district in his father's memory.