An elderly man was beaten to death allegedly by the husband and brother-in-law of an ASHA health worker in East Midnapore’s Gazipur village on Wednesday evening after he visited their house to report the activities of a Covid patient in the area.
Gokul Jana, 62, had reportedly gone to the home of Minati and Sankar Jena to report that the husband of a local panchayat member, diagnosed with Covid-19 and confined to home quarantine, had been roaming in the town and going to public gatherings and functions including weddings.
“Apparently an argument broke out when he accused Minati of neglecting her duties. This enraged her husband and brother-in-law Subhash,” said an eyewitness, adding that the senior citizen was beaten on the spot and left lifeless.
“Sankar Jena slapped Gokul hard on the side of his head and he fell to the ground and died,” said a villager.
Later, the body of the sexagenarian was sent to Contai sub-divisional hospital for post-mortem.
Local sources denied political undertones to the incident though BJP workers later claimed that Gokul was their party worker.
“Both persons named in the FIR have already been arrested and an investigation has started,” said additional SP (rural) Vidit Raj Bhundesh.