Students of Aliah University in Howrah take out a candlelight rally in Kolkata on Sunday. Partha Paul The family of a 28-year-old student leader Anis Khan, who died late Friday night after he was allegedly pushed from the second floor of his Howrah village house by a group of men dressed in police uniform, has demanded a CBI probe, accusing the police of being involved in it.
Claiming that the “murder” of Anis has left many “unanswered questions”, his family accused the local police of being lackadaisical in its probe and said that they did not take any step after Anis complained about threat to his life last May.
Recalling the Friday night’s events leading up to Anis’ death, his father Salem Khan told The Indian Express, “Anis returned home around 12.30 am from a nearby jalsa (a religious gathering). He went to the terrace with his phone and headphones. Around 1.10 am, four unidentified men knocked on our door and asked for Anis. I peeped from my room and told them that Anis was not at home as I didn’t know who they were. But, when they said they were from Bagnan Police Station and would like to talk to Anis in connection with an old case lodged against him, I opened the door.”
According to Salem, one of the men was in a police uniform, while the rest were wearing civic volunteers’ dress.
“One of them stood guard beside him, while the others went upstairs. Suddenly, I heard a loud thud. When I looked outside, I saw Anis lying in a pool of blood. By the time I went near his body, the four had left through a narrow lane near our house. They had pushed him through an open under-construction window,” said Salem.
Anis was taken to a nursing home in Uluberia around 2 am where he was declared dead on arrival.
“Between 2 am and 3 am, we called Amta police station twice, and we were told that someone would contact us in an hour,” said Saleem, adding that police reached their home after seven hours — around 9 am — even though the police station is located about 9 km from their house at Sarada Dakhin Para village.
“When the police came to our house, the villagers didn’t allow them inside and staged a protest,” added Salem. The police managed to pacify the protesters and were finally able to enter the house.
According to the family, by the team the police reached, the crime scene was already contaminated with crowds of people thronging the place. A neighbour said that they tried to cover the spot where Anis fell with bricks and plastic bags.
“Even the team of forensic experts examined the crime scene and collected samples on Sunday noon, about 34 hours after the incident. By that time, the crime scene was already contaminated as family members, neighbours and others had visited the site. There is a high possibility that all the evidence has been destroyed. The police didn’t even put barricades to protect the crime scene,” the family said.
“The police investigation of the crime scene was sloppy and unprofessional, to say the least. They didn’t care about anything and tried to wrap up the matter,” said Anis’ teenage niece, who was sleeping in the same house on Friday night.
“How can we rely on a probe by the police if they are themselves involved. Is it a joke?” said Anis’ elder brother Sabir Khan.
According to the Anis’ father, he heard one of the four “assailants” telling someone on phone while leaving: “Sir, kaaj hoye geche (Sir, the work is done)”. “Who were they? Why were they in a police uniform? Who was the person being addressed as ‘sir’? These questions must be answered,” said Salem.
According to the family, Anis had earlier received death threats. On May 22, 2021, Anis had submitted a letter at Amta police station after a gram panchayat and his men threatened him with dire consequences for organising a blood donation camp in Uluberia. “…A group of men stormed my house and threatened to kill me… My family and I are in a state of great insecurity and fear that they could kill me any day,” the letter read.
Police, however, denied any negligence or delay on their part.
“A murder case has been registered and our investigation is underway… No police team visited his house for any inquiry on Saturday night,” said Debabrata Chakraborty, the officer in-charge of Amta Police Station.
The murder FIR registered against unknown persons on a complaint filed by Anis’ father also has IPC sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Superintendent of Police Howrah (Rural) Soumya Roy, who was reportedly summoned by the DGP for a briefing on the incident, said: “I can firmly say that everything which is required for investigation will be done.”
Rebutting the charge that police took hours to reach the crime scene, Roy said, “it is not that the police did not respond. After receiving the information, police left for the village between 5 and 6 am… There is tension in the area, and the police are trying to do their job.”
“Allegations of police negligence will also be investigated. The whole incident will be investigated by a high ranking official. Anis’ family can rely on the police for an impartial investigation,” Roy told mediapersons on Sunday.
The SP also said that Anis faced pending cases. “It is true that there were multiple cases against Anis at Amta and Bagnan police stations,” Roy said, refusing to divulge details about the cases.
About the threat letter sent by Anis, the SP said that he was not aware of it.
Anis had recently enrolled himself in a journalism course at Kalyani University. He completed a course in Diploma in Information and Communication networking from Aliah University in 2014-2015. He rose to prominence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in 2019 and was actively involved in student politics. He was also known to frequently organise initiatives aimed at social welfare.
“We knew him personally. He was our comrade. He raised his voice against lawlessness. Does that mean anyone one like Anis who raises their voice against injustice and protests will be killed? It is a cold-blooded murder,” said Pratikul Rehman, state president of Students’ Federation of India (SFI).
According to his friends, Anis was involved with Left-leaning students’ outfits while he was at Aliah University, and had recently joined ISF (Indian Secular Front) of Abbas Siddique, an influential cleric of Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district.
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