Mumbai: The killing of a 24-year-old Bengali migrant worker in rural Pune has sparked a political storm, with Mamata Banerjee calling it a hate crime, while the police say it was the consequence of a personal dispute.
Sukhen Dhiren Mahato, a resident of Purulia district’s Tumrasole village in West Bengal, was found brutally murdered in Koregaon Bhima village 10 February morning. He had been living and working in Pune for almost four years.
While the police say no evidence of a hate crime has been found yet, the case has triggered a heated political row, with the TMC and BJP targeting each other over it ahead of the upcoming West Bengal polls.
The Pune rural police registered a murder case the day of the crime, and have detained two suspects, including one who is reportedly a teenager. Initial post-mortem reports indicate Mahato died of severe head injuries. The police are also reviewing CCTV footage from nearby cameras and conducting further inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the killing.
Reacting strongly to the incident, Thursday morning, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the killing in a post on X, saying she was “shaken, enraged, and sickened beyond words by the barbaric murder” of Mahato who was “the sole earning member of his family”, Banerjee wrote.
She further went on to claim: “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.”
The CM has demanded “immediate arrests and exemplary punishment of the perpetrator”, while assuring the victim’s family that “Bengal stands with you in this hour of unimaginable grief” and pledged that “no effort would be spared to secure justice”.
Amit Malviya, incharge of Bhartiya Janata Party’s National Information and Technology Department and co-incharge of West Bengal posted on X: “Mamata Banerjee and TMC’s narrative falters again. Preliminary investigations indicate that the incident was not linked to Sukhen Mahato’s identity as a Bengali or to his mother tongue. There is no evidence to suggest linguistic or regional profiling in this case.”
He further went on to say, “The politicisation of isolated criminal incidents risks distorting reality, deepening mistrust, and unnecessarily inflaming inter-state sentiments. Responsible public discourse demands restraint and fidelity to verified facts, especially when the stakes involve social harmony and the safety of migrant communities.”
Maharashtra police Thursday countered the hate crime allegation made by Mamata Banerjee, stressing that their preliminary probe points to a personal altercation rather than a targeted attack on Mahato for his community or language. They maintain that both the victim and accused had consumed alcohol and got into a dispute that escalated.
“The probe suggests that the murder is a fallout of some dispute that took place in a drunken state and there is no other angle to it,” inspector Dipratan Gaikwad of Shikrapur police station, incharge of the case told the press Thursday. “We have registered an offence and a search for the assailants is on,” he added.
The incident and probe
Based on a complaint filed by Tulsiram Mahato, victim Sukhen’s elder brother, 10 February after Sukhen’s body was found, the Shikrapur police registered a case of murder under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Sukhen, Tulsiram and the third brother had been living in Pune’s Koregaon Bhima area for four years.
The FIR read by ThePrint states that, Mahato left home on the afternoon of 9 February to go to work but did not return. His body was later discovered behind a roadside hotel, bearing multiple injuries, particularly in the head. “While I was searching for my brother, our supervisor Sandeep called me… behind a hotel in Koregaon Bhima. When I went there, the police, Sandeep and other people were there,” the FIR read.
“He was lying dead at the place. There were injuries on his face, head and hands. After seeing his body, I was convinced that my brother was beaten to death by an unknown person for an unknown reason with an unknown weapon,” said Tulsiram in the complaint.
Inspector Dipratan Gaikwad told the press, “As per the preliminary information, the deceased Mahato works in a local industry. Before the incident, he left the house to go to work at 3 pm. But instead of going to work, he started roaming in Koregaon in a drunken state.”
He further added, “Our primary probe suggests that following the spat, he was allegedly murdered by the two persons. 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 in the CCTV. However, he was allegedly found murdered using a sharp weapon nearby.”
On Thursday morning, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), in a post on X stated, that the Bharatiya Janata Party had normalised violence against the people of Bengal, and this is nothing short of ethnic cleansing, calling this crime a stain on humanity.
“@BJP4India has effectively normalised mob violence against the people of Bengal. What we are witnessing is nothing short of an ethnic cleansing campaign, where Bengalis are viewed with suspicion, persecuted, tortured and killed with impunity. Bangla-Birodhi (anti-Bangla) BJP is baying for the blood of our people,” the post stated.
It further read, “This crime is a stain on humanity. The blood of this young man is on the hands of @narendramodi, @AmitShah, and @Dev_Fadnavis.”
Leaders of the AITC also met the Mahato family and expressed their condolences. “Our leaders visited the bereaved family, expressed their deepest condolences, and assured them that we stand firmly with them in their fight for justice. We will not rest until BJP is held accountable, democratically,” the post on X read.
After meeting the bereaved family of Sukhen Mahato, Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee said: “We will take up the issue legally. Maharashtra Police should ensure that the family receives justice. If those involved get bail, police should oppose it. If they can’t, transfer the case to us within 50 days, we will solve the case.”
Sandeep Singh Gill, Superintendent of Police (SP) for Pune Rural, while speaking to the press Thursday reiterated: “In the investigation that we have done so far, we have not come across any such clue that this crime was committed by targetting a particular community.”
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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