A shop owner from Jamalpur in East Burdwan has allegedly beaten his customer to death after the latter failed to pay dues of around Rs 2,000.
Police have started a murder case against the accused.
The victim, Jhontu Karmakar (45), a resident of Dakshinsura village of Jamalpur used to work at a furniture showroom. The victim's family members said that he used to buy various items from the grocery shop owned by the accused, Dhananjay Adhikari.
As Karmakar was not financially stable, he had borrowed Rs 2,200 from the latter. Reportedly, the accused was pressuring him to repay the due amount. He had also threatened to kill Karmakar if the amount was not soon repaid.
Jhontu had tried to repay the money during Bengali New Year but had failed to do so. A few days later, he had paid Adhikari Rs 500. The
accused then asked him to repay the remaining amount immediately but Jhontu failed to do so.
The victim's family claimed that Jhontu had asked Adhikari for some more time for making the payment but Adhikari did not want to grant him an extension.
On May 3, a quarrel broke out between the two men, during which the accused along with some others attacked the victim. They then left the severely injured man on the road.
Karmakar was rushed to Jamalpur Hospital, from where he was discharged after his condition improved.
However, his condition started deteriorating once he reached home. He was again taken to a private hospital in Burdwan and later transferred to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital where he died on Thursday.
Family members of the victim have lodged a complaint at the local police station on the basis of which police have started an investigation.
They are conducting raids to apprehend the accused, who has been absconding since the incident took place.