The change of guard in Rajasthan has given new hope to the family of Afrazul Khan — a labourer who was hacked and burnt alive in the state in December last year — that they will now be able to pursue the murder case in the state without “fearing for their lives”. Advertising On December 6, 2017, Afrazul Khan of Malda was hacked and then burnt alive by Shambhulal Regar in Rajasmand district of Rajasthan. Regar then uploaded a video of the incident, which was recorded by his nephew, on social media. He was arrested and is presently lodged in jail. A case is on in Rajasmand court while Gulbahar Bibi, Afrazul’s wife, has appealed to the Supreme Court to move the case out of Rajasthan. “We are happy that Congress has won and will form government in Rajasthan. It has been one year that the case is going on, despite the world watching what happened. So far, it was not possible for myself or my family members to visit Rajasthan and pursue the case. We feared we would be killed there. Now, since Congress government is there, we feel the situation will change. I just want justice for my husband,” Gulbahar Begum told The Indian Express over phone. She added that a few months ago, policemen from Rajasthan had visited her village and asked some of Khan’s family to be present in court as witnesses. “The man who killed my husband made a video from jail. We heard that he may be given a ticket to contest polls. All these instilled a fear in our hearts that if we go there we will be harmed,” she said. Advertising Afrazul’s brother Rum Khan and his elder son-in-law Musaraf Khan were in Rajasthan when the murder occurred. “We were scared for our lives. That was why we did not go. The status of the case is also unknown to us,” said Rum Khan. The family also said that aside from one visit by an officer to give them some compensation, no political leader or government officers from Rajasthan visited them. Gulbahar said the chargesheet submitted by Rajasthan police to the court had also been sent to her by post. After the incident, leaders of all political parties in West Bengal, barring the BJP, had visited Afrazul’s family. The state government, on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s instructions, had arranged for a government job for Afrazul’s daughter and widow pension for Gulbahar. Meanwhile, state Congress and Trinamool Congress leaders said they would communicate with the new government in Rajasthan over the matter. “We could not do anything because BJP was in power in Rajasthan. Now, with the Congress government in, we can try and help out the family,” said Isha Khan Chowdhury, Congress MLA from Sujapur. Reiterating this, Trinamool Congress district president Moazzem Hussain said, “If needed, we will contact the new government in Rajasthan and ask them to speed up the process and investigation so that justice is delivered.”

Stay updated with all the Kolkata Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.