Kalna, Oct. 11: A 75-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by members of a Puja committee last night for not shelling out Rs1,001 as subscription money.

Police said around 10pm, a dozen drunk youths from Ashish Sangha, a local club, stormed the house of Santosh Das in Hatshimla village in Kalna, about 165km from Calcutta.

They beat up Das’s 62-year-old wife Pushparani and his daughter Kalyani, 35, with sticks and iron rods first. When Das came to their rescue, they set upon him.

The police said the club members first came to Das’s home on Sashthi (October 5) and asked for Rs 1,001.

Das, who retired eight years ago as a weaver in a private handloom company, said he could not give so much money and handed them Rs 151.

“But they returned last night and asked for the remaining Rs 850. When my husband pleaded helplessness, they assaulted us,” Pushparani said from her bed in Kalna sub-divisional hospital.

“All 12 were drunk. They had iron rods and sticks. When they demanded the money, we said with folded hands that we had no more,” she said.

“Two of them pounced on me and twisted my arm. My daughter and then my husband came to rescue me but the attackers thrashed them so badly that they slumped to the floor.”

Das’s two sons work as weavers in the same company where he worked. They were not at home when the youths attacked.

Das was declared brought dead at the Kalna sub-divisional hospital.

His daughter is admitted there with injuries.

Rathindranath Mukherjee,the inspector in charge of Kalna police station, said a murder case has been registered against the 12 after Das’s elder son filed a complaint.

The youths are absconding.

At Majigram in Suri, 10- year-old Dhani Bagdi was injured in a clash between the police and villagers.

The clash broke out when villagers were trying to release two youths whom the police had arrested for extorting Puja subscription from traders.