Bolpur, June 9: A plea challenging the omission of Trinamul MLA Manirul Islam's name from a triple-murder chargesheet was withdrawn by a brother of the victims today while the legislator was seen pacing outside the court room where the proceedings were held.

The FIR by Sanwar Sheikh, a sibling of the three men who were killed, had mentioned Manirul as the accused in the June 3, 2010, murder. But the chargesheet drawn up by police did not mention Labhpur MLA Manirul and his brothers, though it said the legislator's Birbhum home courtyard was the place of occurrence of the crime.

The hearing in the Bolpur court today was held as Sanwar had said he wanted to challenge the omission of the names of Manirul and his brothers from the chargesheet.

Sanwar, a sand trader, came in a car accompanied by men known to be close to Manirul. He left the court in the same car accompanied by Manirul's aides.

Sanwar told the additional chief judicial magistrate of the Bolpur court that he had submitted the petition after being abetted by someone.

In the petition before the Bolpur additional chief judicial magistrate's court on March 30, Sanwar had mentioned that he was threatened and forced to give a statement earlier that Manirul and his men were not involved in the murders.

On June 3, 2010, brothers Koton Sheikh, Dhanu Sheikh and Turuk Sheikh were killed over an alleged sand mining dispute at Manirul's home.

Sanwar's mother Zarina Biwi left Labhpur after hearing that the petition would be withdrawn.

Contacted over phone, she said: "It is my fate that the actual accused, Manirul and the others, would not be punished now. Sanwar did not tell me why he was withdrawing the complaint. So I left his house in Labhpur."

Sanwar refused to speak to journalists.

Asked why he came to the court today, Manirul, who left only after the magistrate accepted Sanwar's plea, said: "I had some personal work."

Asked about Sanwar's decision to withdraw the petition, Manirul said: "Some people provoked him to submit the petition. You wait and see. Sanwar's family members will tell more about the Congress and CPM leaders who provoked them to lodge a complaint against me."

Today, Sanwar stepped into the witness box around 3.35pm. His advocate Saikat Hati told the court: "Sir, my client had submitted a petition mentioning his objection to the chargesheet. But he is now saying he was abetted by someone and wants to withdraw it."

The magistrate asked Sanwar: "Do you have any objection?"

"No," Sanwar said, hands folded.

Assistant public prosecutor Firoz Kumar Pal told magistrate Saurav Nandi: "Sir, he wants to withdraw the complaint, so we have no problem. The case would proceed on the basis of the chargesheet submitted earlier."

The public prosecutor's statement means that the case will proceed on the basis of the police chargesheet that does not name Manirul.

Jamal Sheikh, Sanwar's younger brother, said: "I think Sanwar was forced to withdraw the petition and he might have been offered money. We are thinking of lodging a separate complaint. My mother could lodge it."