2 yrs on, Afrajul killing still weighs on in Malda

The killing of a labourer from Maldah in far- away Rajasthan almost two years ago weighs heavily on the minds of people of the district, which is heavily dependent on remittance from its male members working as construction labourers in other states, as it prepares to vote on April 23.

Mohammad Afrajul, a labourer from Saiydpur village, was allegedly hacked and burnt to death by a man in December 2017. The attack was filmed on video, which shows the victim pleading for his life.

"The video is still there. People in the village still see it. I don't know what wrong he did, but I keep wondering was it his religion that killed him," asked Afrajul's wife Gulbahar Bibi in her one-room house, with her youngest daughter
Will she vote on April 23 when Malda Uttar and Malda Dakshin go to polls in the third phase of the elections? Does she expect anything from anyone this election?
"Why shouldn't I vote? It's my right. I will vote to do my bit. Even at a time when the video was viral and my family was suffering, not one leader from the BJP came to see us. In the past two years, no one from the party has come."