Man killed for protesting against youth drinking inside temple premises

A 45-year-old daily wage labourer ended up paying a heavy price for protesting against consumption of liquor by some local youth in a temple, as they strangulated him to death by the. The incident triggered tension in the area.

Police said that that the victim Santosh Das, on late Tuesday night, was taking a stroll in Ekaihat village of Katwa, when he saw that some local youth were consuming alcohol inside a temple premises. Locals told police that the miscreants used to drink in there every evening and had people became faded up with the incident.

They had protested multiple times, but the youth paid no heed to their protests. As the accused were involved in anti-social activities, nobody had the courage to stand against them.

Locals alleged that despite repeated pleas, police had not taken any action against the accused. Women feared to cross through the area after the sun down.

However, Das could not tolerate it on Tuesday when he saw that the accused were indulging in malpractices inside the temple premises. When he demanded why they were boozing there, some of the accused pounced on him.

As the victim tried to free himself, the goons pushed him to the ground and began to beat him indiscriminately. Das screamed for help but failed to catch the attention of any passersby as the area had become a desolate place with the setting of the sun.

The miscreants later strangulated the victim with a piece of cloth and fled the spot immediately. Some locals later found Das lying in a pool of blood. They rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Police have started a probe in this connection. They are interrogating the priest of the temple and other local residents in this regard.

Main accused Budhhadeb Sikdar has been absconding since the incident occurred, along with his accomplices. Police are conducting raids at various places to nab the criminals.