As alleged by the Kalu’s family, he had paid a bribe of Rs 5,000 to Mithu Sheikh, to include his name in the list of beneficiaries under the PMAY scheme. However, his name was not included in the final list. When Kalu demanded Mithu to return his money, a heated argument ensued, leading to a physical altercation, said police.

As per police sources, Mithu allegedly attacked Kalu with an iron rod, inflicting severe injuries. Kalu was taken to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital and later shifted to NRS Medical College in Kolkata, where he died on Sunday morning.

The body has been sent for post-mortem and we are still trying to find out the cause of Kalu Sheikh’s death, the police said.

“My uncle gave Mithu Rs 5,000 to get a house under Awas Yojana. Since his name didn’t appear in the list, he went to ask for the money. Mithu threatened to file a police complaint. When uncle protested, he brought an iron rod from the house, beat him severely… He should be hanged,” said Ramzan Mandal, deceased’s nephew.

Mithu’s relative Saurabh Halsana said, “He (Kalu) was trying to blackmail Mithu… Kalu suddenly fell onto the ground. Could be something like a stroke…”

While TMC stated that the law will take its course, its Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir said, “Our leader has not received the share money of the central project. Self-interested people are collecting money here, they were killed while protesting…”