The Sharmas’ residence. Picture by Biplab Basak

Siliguri, Oct. 27: A district Congress leader of Jalpaiguri who succumbed to burn injuries early this morning said in his dying statement that the humiliation of being beaten up in public by his brother and his friends had forced him to set himself on fire.

Manik, alias Rajatjyoti Sharma (55), a secretary of the Jalpaiguri district Congress, died at a private nursing home here at 2.30am today. He was beaten up by his brother Sanjib and his friends Raju Bose and Atanu Chakraborty with slippers and shoes last evening for protesting when they were allegedly trying to extort a woman. All three are CPM workers. Another brother of the Congress leader, Samiran, has filed a police complaint naming the trio, who have fled the area.

“Manik used to stay at a rented house near Pandapara Kalibari, while our ancestral home is at Parker More,” said Samiran. Rajendra and Sekharendra, two other brothers, also stay in the same house.

“Yesterday, Sanjib, who is a broker, brought a woman to our house and threatened her with dire consequences if she did not sell her land through him. The woman started crying. We felt bad and called Manik so that he could reprimand him and make him see sense.”

When Manik protested, Sanjib and his accomplices pounced on him. Manik then walked out of the house but was caught again by the trio near Parker More. “They thrashed him with slippers and shoes. I rushed to help and was beaten up too,” Samiran said.

The brothers were brought apart by neighbours. In the evening, Manik went near his ancestral house on his scooter. He took out petrol from the two-wheeler through a pipe, and poured it in a container. He then sprinkled it on his body and set himself on fire.

Manik was first rushed to Jalpaiguri District Hospital, where he gave his statement to the police. He was taken to the nursing home later.

The Chhatra Parishad — Manik’s son Mainak is its district secretary — has set a deadline of 48 hours to arrest the culprits. “Otherwise, we will launch an indefinite dharna in front of the police station,” said Saikat Chatterjee, the president of the Jalpaiguri Chhatra Parishad.

The CPM has said the incident was a “family affair”.