Police suspend 3 personnel in student leader Anish Khan's death case

KOLKATA: Two policemen and a civic volunteer were suspended on Tuesday in connection with the investigation into the death case of student activist Anish Khan, officials said. The three personnel were suspended a day after the West Bengal government formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the "mysterious" death, which has sparked widespread protests across the state.

"An Assistant Sub-Inspector, a Constable and a civic volunteer of Amata police station have been suspended. This is related to the ongoing investigation in the Anish Khan case," a senior police officer said. Four people in uniforms of police and civic volunteers had allegedly pushed off Khan from the third floor of his house in Howrah district's Amta in the dead of the night on February 18, according to his family.

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During the incident, the men in uniform had allegedly held Khan's father at gunpoint after barging into the house, citing an ongoing investigation against him, the family said. The police had earlier claimed that no personnel went to Khan's house that night. The SIT, which has been tasked to submit its report to the government within 15 days, visited the Amta police station on Monday night and inspected the duty roster of February 18, official sources said. Khan's family has demanded a CBI inquiry, stating that they "don't have faith in the state police".

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The death of Khan, a vocal critic of the Mamata Banerjee government who was at the forefront of many protests, rocked the state with students of different colleges and universities hitting the streets, questioning why no arrests could be made even after three days of the incident. Khan, who was earlier with the CPI(M)-backed SFI, was a prominent face of the protests in Kolkata against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He later joined the Indian Secular Front (ISF) of Abbas Siddiqui.