Murshidabad violence: Fourth arrest made in father-son murder case

Kolkata: One of the prime accused in the murder of a man and his son in violence-hit Murshidabad district of West Bengal has been arrested, police said on Sunday.

This marks the fourth arrest related to the killing of two individuals at Jafrabad in Shamsherganj, a senior police officer confirmed.

The arrested person, identified as Ziaul Sheikh from Sulitala Purbapara, a neighbouring village of Jafrabad, had been on the run since the incident occurred on 12 April.

Sheikh was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police along with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) from his hideout in Chopra, located in Uttar Dinajpur district, on Saturday.

Conspiracy and instigation charges

"This person is one of the prime accused who had conspired and instigated a mob to carry out vandalism at the residence of the deceased and killed Haragobindo Das and his son Chandan Das on 12 April," the officer told PTI.

According to the officer, the police have secured evidence, including CCTV footage and mobile tower location data, to confirm Sheikh’s presence at the crime scene on the day of the murder.

Previous arrests in the case

Earlier, police had arrested two brothers, Kalu Nadar and Dildar, as well as Inzmam Ul Haque, in connection with the double murder.

Kalu was apprehended from Murarai in Birbhum district, while his brother Dildar was arrested near the Bangladesh border under Suti Police Station jurisdiction. The third accused, Inzmam Ul Haque, was caught in Suripara, another village neighbouring Jafrabad.

Wider investigation underway

"We have lodged over 100 FIRs in the Murshidabad violence cases. We have so far arrested 276 people in these cases," the officer added.

At least three people have died in connection with the recent violence, which followed protests over amendments to the Waqf Act.

(PTI inputs)