Court remands 4 persons to 13 days' police custody for student

A local court today remanded four persons to 13-day police custody in connection with the death of an ITI student at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district.
The four, including a woman, were produced in the SDJM's court in connection with the death of Koushik Purkait, a student of an ITI institute in the district, who was fatally beaten up by a mob at Harindanga in the district on May 9 night.
The judge rejected their bail plea and remanded all the four to 13 days' police custody.
They were charged with causing grievous injury, illegal confinement and abduction.

Five people were apprehended in connection with the murder but one was released later for want of evidence.
Purkait, who came to visit his aunt's residence in the area and was roaming around when he was confronted by members of a local club and forcibly taken to a room. He was later rescued by his relatives who rushed to the spot on hearing about the incident and took him to Diamond Harbour Hospital.

Meanwhile, a mob today set ablaze a fruit orchard and
ransacked some houses in the area as the student's body was brought to his aunt's village where the murder took taken place, a police officer said.

The residence of local panchayat Upa-Pradhan of Trinamool Congress Tapas Mallick also bore the brunt of mob fury but Mallick, named among 10 other accused in the crime by the family of the deceased apart from the four arrested, was not found in the area ever since the incident.
CPI(M) candidate from Raidighi and former West Bengal minister Kanti Ganguly also accompanied the body brought from Kolkata morgue and tried to pacify the mob but was caught in the melee.
The police officer said Ganguly did not suffer any injury or bruises nor was he manhandled by the crowd.
The body was later taken to youth's residence at Mandirbazar in a large procession.

The youth was targetted by a section of locals who were incensed with the theft of cattle from the area in recent times and mistook him as being involved in the racket, the officer said.