Pune: Police on Thursday said the murder of a migrant worker from West Bengal’s Purulia district in Koregaon Bhima was the fallout of a personal dispute and not a hate crime, as the state’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed.Pune Rural superintendent of police (SP) Sandeep Singh Gill told reporters, “We did not find any indication in our investigation so far that the murder was the result of communal targeting or a hate crime.” He said the victim had a verbal dispute with two individuals, and police teams were currently searching for the duo — the prime suspects in the matter.The Bengal chief minister claimed in a post on X earlier in the day that the killing of 24-year-old Sukhen Mahto was a “hate crime”. “I am shaken, enraged and sickened beyond words by the barbaric murder. This is nothing short of a hate crime. A young man was hunted, tortured and murdered for his language, his identity, his roots. This is the direct consequence of a climate where xenophobia is weaponised and innocents are turned into targets,” she wrote.She said Mahto was the sole earning member of his family, and demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment for those responsible. Mamata also assured the victim’s family that all efforts would be made to secure justice.The Pune Rural police said preliminary investigations did not reveal any evidence to support the hate crime angle. Mahto worked as a machine operator in a firm in Koregaon Bhima. He was found dead on Tuesday with injuries inflicted on his head, face and hands by sharp weapons.A case was registered under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Shikrapur police station, and further investigation was underway, SP Gill said.A senior officer of the Shikrapur police said Mahto lived in Koregaon Bhima with his two brothers in a rented house. All of them have been working in the local company. “None of the family members alleged hate crime in their complaint,” the officer said.According to the police, Mahto left his residence around 3pm on Monday to go to work but did not reach his workplace. His body was found the following day behind a hotel in Koregaon Bhima, along the Pune-Ahilyanagar highway. His elder brother filed the complaint in the case.The police said the two suspects did not appear to be known to the victim. According to details revealed from the investigation conducted so far, they probably had a verbal dispute only on the day of the incident.The ruling TMC-led govt in West Bengal alleged hate crime against migrant workers from West Bengal in BJP-ruled states earlier also. The Bengal BJP members termed the allegations baseless in the poll-bound state.
