In a shocking turn of events, a Muslim laborer from the Usthi area of South 24-Parganas was allegedly killed in Komarolu, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday night. The victim, Manjur Alam Laskar, aged 32, had been working as a zari worker at Komarolu for nearly a decade before his untimely demise.
According to family members, Laskar had long been associated with the locality but was repeatedly threatened and accused of being a foreigner. On Tuesday, an unidentified caller demanded a ransom of ₹25,000 for Laskar’s release, a claim that his family confirmed after they managed to arrange ₹6,000 and paid it online. Tragically, on Wednesday night, the family received news that Laskar had been killed.
Laskar’s elder brother, Giyasuddin Laskar, who is a Trinamool Congress leader and deputy chief of Rangilabad gram panchayat, alleged that the killing was premeditated and executed by Hindutva goons. He stated, “It is clear that the unidentified caller and others killed my brother-in-law.”
Investigations are currently ongoing, with the family having already contacted Komarolu police and shared the phone number from which the ransom call was made. The family has also requested the Bengal government to take up the matter with Andhra Pradesh authorities and ensure a comprehensive probe into the alleged murder.
It is important to note that the TDP-JSP-BJP coalition governs the Andhra Pradesh state. This incident comes amidst a concerning trend of violence and suspicious deaths involving migrant laborers from Bengal in recent times.
