(From top) A video footage purportedly shows Prasanta Debnath with a stick in his hand in Raiganj University College on January 5. Principal Dilip Dey Sarkar is in a grey suit; another footage purportedly shows Prasanta face to face with the principal; and residents of Udaipur at the spot where Alok Tantia was beaten to death. Picture by Nantu Dey

Raiganj, Feb. 26: A Trinamul Congress activist, accused of assaulting a college principal last month, has allegedly beaten to death a 27-year-old supplier of construction material last night.

Alok Tantia had gone to meet the accused, Prasanta Debnath, at his home around 9pm to demand the return of Rs 2,000. Later, the local people found him lying battered in front of Prasanta’s house in Udaipur with a bloodied stick beside him.

Police suspect he was beaten up with the stick. The spot is 100 metres from Alok’s house.

The CPM has alleged that Prasanta, the driver of a pick-up van, was among the Trinamul supporters who had assaulted the principal of Raiganj University College on January 5. A video footage of the incident purportedly shows Prasanta with a stick among the mob that had beaten up the principal. But Prasanta’s name does not figure in the FIR that was filed by principal Dilip Dey Sarkar.

Today, around noon, when Alok’s body was brought to Udaipur after post-mortem, a mob ransacked Prasanta’s house and tried to set it on fire.

Ranjit Tantia said his son Alok used to supply soil to builders.

“Prasanta owed my son Rs 2,000 but had refused to return the amount. Yesterday, around 9pm, Alok called me up on my cellphone and said he would return home only after realising the amount. We were waiting for him to come back and have dinner with us. Around 11pm, a neighbour told us that Alok was lying all battered and bleeding in front of Prasanta’s house,” the father, who filed an FIR last night against Prasanta, said.

Nirmal Poddar, who broke the news to Alok’s family, said he was returning home on bicycle when he spotted a youth lying on the roadside. “His clothes were caked with blood and there was a heavy bamboo stick lying on the road nearby. It also had blood on it. When I realised it was Alok, I raised the alarm and broke the news to his father,” he said.

Alok was declared brought dead at the Raiganj district hospital.

Prasanta’s widowed mother admitted that Alok had come to their house last night. “Yes, the murdered youth came to meet my son. He had called out to my son, who went out with him. I saw them talking on the road in front of the house. A little later, my son returned. Then he went out with his wife and seven-month-old daughter. They did not come back. Later, I got to know what happened. I want my son to be punished if he is guilty of the ghastly act,” Shanti Debnath said.

The CPM has alleged that Prasanta was an active Trinamul worker. “He took part in the January 5 attack on the principal of Raiganj College. He has been creating terror in Udaipur for some time. We demand his arrest at the earliest,” said Nilkamal Saha, the Raiganj local committee secretary of the CPM.

Saha also claimed that Prasanta was close to INTTUC leader Arindam Sarkar.

Trinamul denied that Prasanta was a party member. “The CPM is trying to malign us. We were not involved in the Raiganj College incident in any way. The attack on the principal was carried out by outsiders planted by the Congress,” said Arindam Sarkar.

North Dinajpur police chief Dipankar Bhattacharya said the accused was absconding. “He had used the stick to beat up the victim,” he said.