A member of a vigilante group formed to prevent frequent thefts at a village in Malda district was murdered by two unidentified men early on Wednesday morning, triggering protests by local people who blocked a road and allegedly hurled stones at police.

Two other members of the vigilante group suffered injuries in the attack and have been admitted to Malda Medical College and Hospital.

Youths of Sikandarpur village in Amrity gram panchayat, which is under the jurisdiction of Englishbazar police station, were guarding their area as thefts had been on the rise for the past few days.

"The night-watchmen noticed two persons moving suspiciously between 1am and 2am. The group suspected the duo to be thieves. Nimai Mandal, 25, Biswajit Rabidas and Surja Mandal, who are in their twenties, challenged the two. When the youths chased the duo, the three were attacked with sharp weapons," Pradeep Kumar Yadav, the superintendent of police of Malda, said.

Nimai, Biswajit and Surja were rushed to Malda Medical College and Hospital, where Nimai succumbed to his injuries.

The attack triggered widespread outrage. By early morning, angry residents of Sikandarpur and surrounding areas blocked the Malda–Manikchak state highway at five points, paralysing traffic on one of the busiest routes in the district for nearly eight hours.

Police tried to bring the situation under control. Attempts to persuade the mob to lift the blockade failed, with residents accusing the police of inaction and negligence.

“Police are more busy guarding the ministers and the VIPs, and not the common people. They had ignored our repeated complaints about the rise in thefts. That is why we had to form watch teams. Now one of us is dead and the police have to take responsibility,” said a protester who did not want to be named.

The mob allegedly pelted the police with stones. In response, the police fired several tear gas shells.

A senior police officer said the law enforcers had resorted to a “mild” baton charge to disperse the protesters and fired only “five to six tear-gas shells when we were attacked”.

The villagers, however, claimed that the police fired around 30 tear gas shells and “brutally” beat them up.

The blockade was lifted around 2pm.

“So far, 18 persons who led the road blockade have been detained. The probe into the murder is going on,” said the police officer.

The police said rumours and fake visuals were being circulated with ulterior motives.

Student dead

Subhankar Ghosh, a Class XI student, was found dead at Naoda Binpara village in Malda district, less than 500m from the Bangladesh border, on Wednesday.

The preliminary investigation by Kaliachak police suggests that the 18-year-old had been shot dead. According to his father Pradip Ghosh, Subhankar had left home a few days back for a residential coaching centre in Kaliachak.

The police have sent the body for autopsy and started a murder case.

Two jailed under UAPA

A court here on Wednesday sentenced two men to five years of imprisonment under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for circulating high-quality fake Indian currency notes.

The district and session judge, Subhayu Banerjee, also asked Mohammad Mahboob Ansari and Nazir Hossain to pay a fine of ₹25,000, failing which the two would have to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six additional months.

Mahboob Ansari hailed from Araria district in Bihar, while Hossain was from Sashani under the jurisdiction of Kaliachak police station in Malda district. Both are in their mid-40s.

The Special Task Force (STF) of Bengal police arrested the two with the fake notes with a face value of ₹1.48 lakh at Rathbari More on December 11, 2021.

“The notes had high quality. That warranted charges under the UAPA,” said a police officer.