Kolkata: A businessman was brutally killed by some miscreants at Daspur in West Midnapore triggering tension amongst locals.
The incident took place on Saturday night when the victim was returning home. Police have arrested one person in this connection. According to police, the victim, Sukhdeb Maity (50) was a conch seller and used to supply it to various shops in the district.
It was alleged that the victim had supplied conches to local businessman Jagannath Samui but the latter was not paying him his due money. Family members of the victim said Samui had received conches and some other products worth nearly Rs 1 lakh from Maity but was not paying the money despite repeated requests. It was learnt that a quarrel broke out between the duo on Saturday morning over the non-payment of dues. Following the incident, Samui told the victim that he would pay his money and provided an address of an abandoned house in Tatarpur area of Daspur on Saturday evening.
After his days work, the victim went to the place on late Saturday evening to receive his dues. When he reached there, Samui attacked him with a chopper. The victim fell to the ground after receiving several blows. He received severe injuries on various parts of his body. After hearing his screams, locals rushed to the spot and found him lying in a pool of blood. The locals rushed the victim to Ghatal Sub-divisional hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The body was sent for post-mortem.
Some of the family members of the victim alleged that local Trinamool Congress-backed goons might have been behind the murder as one of the relatives of the victim was contesting Panchayat election in the BJP's ticket. Police, however, suspect that a business rivalry might have led to the incident and there is no political angle.
On the basis of the complaint lodged by the victim's wife, police have arrested the other. A detailed probe is on. They are also investigating if the victim was murdered after he demanded the money or there is any other angle.