Kolkata/Purulia: CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that the death of a 24-year-old migrant worker from Purulia in Pune was a hate crime, with the victim “hunted, tortured and murdered for his language, identity and roots”. The Bengal govt stood by the bereaved family, Banerjee said, adding that “no effort will be spared to ensure justice”.Sukhen Mahato, a resident of Tumrasol village in Purulia’s Barabazar area, worked as a labourer. He was murdered late on Feb 9 in Koregaon, under Shikrapur police station limits.“I am shaken, enraged and sickened beyond words by the barbaric murder of Sukhen Mahato, a migrant worker from Bandwan and the sole earning member of his family, in Pune,” Banerjee posted on X.“This is the direct consequence of a climate where xenophobia is weaponised and innocents are turned into targets,” Banerjee added, explaining why she was calling it a targeted crime. The CM demanded immediate arrests and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is likely to travel to Purulia on Friday to meet the victim’s kin. TMC’s district netas visited Sukhen’s house on Thursday.Sukhen, hailing from a marginalised Kurmi family, was employed at a car parts manufacturing company in Pune with his brother Tulsiram, while their younger brother works at a welding factory. The family alleged Sukhen was murdered by right-wing sympathisers for speaking Bengali.Tulsiram said: “All three of us work in factories in Pune. We live together in a rented house. Sukhen went to work for the 3pm shift. I work in the night shift. I learned about the incident Tuesday morning.”Sukhen’s family said they would not meet any BJP neta as Sukhen was a victim of right-wing politics. Dineshchandra, the uncle of the deceased, said: “Our bright young boy was mercilessly killed by right-wing members in BJP-governed Pune. He was killed because he spoke in Bengali.”Sukhen’s father Dhiren said: “My son went to Maharashtra for work out of necessity. He didn’t know Marathi. Perhaps something happened because of this. He might have said something in Bengali, which they didn’t like.”All Kurmi organisations also criticised the incident.Pune Police, however, claimed that no hate crime was involved. “As per preliminary information, Sukhen Mahato left the house at 3pm. But instead of going to work, he started roaming around in Koregaon in a drunken state,” inspector Dipratan Gaikwad of Shikrapur PS said. Sukhen allegedly picked up a spat with two persons, he added.“Our probe suggests that following the spat, he was murdered by the duo. We have CCTV footage in which the deceased is seen to be in an unstable condition and arguing with two persons. The actual assault did not get captured on CCTV. He was found murdered using a sharp weapon,” Gaikwad said. A hunt for the assailants was on, police said.The three brothers worked in Pune even before the Covid period. After returning home during lockdown, they went back once the situation normalised in 2022.Purulia’s BJP MP and state BJP general secretary Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato said: “Any death is tragic. After hearing about the incident, I spoke with the local leadership. Action will be taken.”
