Malda, Nov. 27 -- A primary school para-teacher engaged as BLO in SIR duties and her husband were brutally assaulted in Harishchandrapur after allegedly refusing to fill up survey forms according to the instructions of an influential land mafia. The incident occurred in Dation village under Sultanpur Gram Panchayat.
According to the complaint, former Congress panchayat member and locally known land mafia Mohammad Kasimuddin had been pressuring Mondal and her husband Kamal Mondal to carry out all SIR form distribution and collection work under his command. When they refused, Kasimuddin allegedly caught Kamal alone in a field and severely assaulted him. Shockingly, he is accused of squeezing the victim's testicles in an attempt to kill him. Hearing his screams, locals rushed to rescue him and admitted him to Harishchandrapur Rural Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
"We were constantly threatened to follow his instructions. When we refused, my husband was almost killed," said Nibedita Mondal.
Mostak Alam of Congress claimed Kasimuddin is no longer associated with them, stating: "He is now sheltered by the ruling party." The BJP district secretary Rupesh Agarwal alleged: "The ruling party is using local criminals to intimidate BLOs and control SIR form fill-up." Saheb Das of Trinamool Congress dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and added that the police would be asked to take necessary action.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.