Student activist Anis Khan, 28, died after a fall from his family's house at Amta in Howrah district, West Bengal, on 19 February 2022, after uniformed men came looking for him. His family says he was thrown from the roof, and students blocked Kolkata roads for days. A state SIT charged five policemen with causing death by negligence, not murder, and the Calcutta High Court refused a CBI probe.
Key takeaways
- Student activist Anis Khan died after a fall from his family's house in Amta, Howrah, around 1 am on 19 February 2022. His family says uniformed men threw him off the roof.
- Students and left groups blocked Kolkata junctions for about a week. Police used force at College Street on 22 February and at Panchla on 26 February.
- Mamata Banerjee set up an SIT, rejected a CBI probe and called road blockades "a criminal offence". The Calcutta High Court ordered a second post-mortem and refused a CBI transfer on 21 June 2022.
- The SIT's July 2022 chargesheet says Khan fell and was not murdered, and charges five Amta policemen with causing death by negligence and related offences.
Who Anis Khan was
Khan was an SFI activist at Bagnan College, did an integrated MBA at Aliah University in Kolkata, and later joined the Indian Secular Front (ISF) Sabrang. PTI described him as "a prominent face of the protests in Kolkata against the Citizenship Amendment Act" PTI via Tribune.
Days before his death he criticised the Chief Minister on Facebook over the hijab row India Today. In a May 2021 complaint to Amta police, he said a local Trinamool panchayat leader had threatened him, and that he feared "they could kill me and my family any day" Maktoob.
The night of 18-19 February
Claim · Family His father, Salem Khan, says four men came late on 18 February: one in police uniform with a gun and three dressed as civic volunteers. "When I opened the door, they pushed me aside and barged into the house searching for Anis. They went upstairs and threw my son off the roof and fled," he told The Indian Express The Quint.
The family says police arrived about seven hours after they called The Quint. A murder case under IPC Section 302 was registered on the father's complaint Maktoob.
Government's position Howrah Rural SP Soumya Roy denied police involvement, saying police would have taken Khan into custody had they gone there Scroll. That account changed within days.
How the protests spread
On 19 February about 500 people marched with candles from Aliah University towards Entally and clashed with police at a barricade near Padmapukur, by Park Circus. Police said the situation was "quickly brought under control" Scroll, citing PTI. Maktoob put the crowd at Park Circus at about 600 Maktoob. Jadavpur University students joined The Hindu.
The SFI called statewide protests. "We suspect the complicity of local TMC leaders," SFI's Subhajit Sarkar said PTI via EastMojo. ISF chairman and MLA Naushad Siddiqui said Khan "has reportedly been given death threats several times" Maktoob.
Timeline
Death at Amta
Khan dies after a fall from his family's house Maktoob.
SIT and suo motu case
Mamata Banerjee announces an SIT, promising "No one will be spared." Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court opens suo motu proceedings, calling the incident "grave and shocking" LiveLaw.
Suspensions and College Street clash
Three Amta station staff, including assistant sub-inspector Nirmal Das, are suspended The Quint. Aliah students marching to Writers' Buildings are dispersed at College Street PTI via Outlook.
Two arrests
A home guard and a civic volunteer are arrested. Students block Park Circus, Jadavpur and Narkelbagan PTI via Tribune.
Second post-mortem ordered
The High Court calls a CBI transfer "too premature" LiveLaw.
Bhawani Bhawan and Panchla
SFI-DYFI activists are arrested in Kolkata Sabrang. A march to the Howrah Rural SP's office ends in clashes PTI via Careers360.
Body exhumed
With the family's consent, the body is exhumed for a second autopsy at SSKM hospital PTI via EastMojo.
CBI refused, chargesheet filed
The High Court refuses a CBI probe LiveLaw. The SIT charges five policemen, without a murder charge PTI via Careers360.
The arrests and the "scapegoat" claim
On 23 February DGP Manoj Malviya announced the arrests of home guard Kashinath Bera and civic volunteer Pritam Bhattacharya of Amta police station. Banerjee said they "could have influenced the investigation". Claim · Family Salem Khan said "I did not see the two at my house that night" PTI via Tribune.
Claim · Accused The two said they went to the house on the orders of Amta station's officer-in-charge. "We were working under orders from senior officers. Now they are making us scapegoats," Bera said Hindustan Times eNewsroom.
Both accounts
Family's and protesters' account
The family says uniformed men held Salem Khan at gunpoint and threw Anis from the roof PTI via Outlook. They say a state police SIT cannot investigate the state police, and at first refused to hand Khan's phone to anyone but a court or the CBI eNewsroom. Salem Khan recalled that Banerjee, in opposition in 2007, had sought a CBI probe into Rizwanur Rahman's death PTI via Tribune. His son Sabir filed an FIR over an anonymous threat call PTI via Careers360. Their lawyer, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, called it "ridiculous" to say the death was not homicide LiveLaw.
State government and police account
Government's position Banerjee promised "No laxity will be tolerated" but rejected the CBI demand: "You can't insult the state police in the name of CBI." She said she had "no issue with democratic protests", but blocking roads so that people miss flights "is a criminal offence and not a democratic movement" PTI via Tribune. DGP Malviya said the family was obstructing the SIT "at the behest of some political parties in the area" by not handing over the phone PTI via Outlook. In court the state said the post-mortem showed an accidental death. It said the accused did not know Khan and had no motive, and that he fell through an open second-floor window LiveLaw.
Police action against protesters
No official total of detentions was found. On 22 February police said "some" activists were detained at College Street PTI via Outlook, while ANI reported "many" The Quint. The figure of 67 SFI-DYFI arrests on 25 February, including JNU students' union leader Dipsita Dhar, comes from one outlet, The Telegraph, as reported by Sabrang Sabrang.
The Panchla clash on 26 February was the most violent. Claim · Police Police said protesters threw stones, damaged police vehicles and tried to torch a van, and that officers used lathis, tear gas and "minimum force". Claim · DYFI DYFI state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee, who was injured, said outsiders started the violence and that police beat activists in the vans. Police denied this PTI via Careers360. Trinamool's Kunal Ghosh accused the two groups of "cheap politics" PTI via Careers360.
The High Court's orders
On 24 February the High Court let the SIT, headed by ADG (CID) Gyanwant Singh, continue its work. It ordered a filmed second post-mortem under a district judge, forensic tests on the phone, and an identification parade for the family LiveLaw Hindustan Times. On 14 March it gave the SIT a month to finish LiveLaw.
The SIT filed an 82-page report on 19 April. The court ordered Salem Khan to apologise on affidavit for saying on social media that the judge had acted under political pressure LiveLaw. India TV reported that the progress report hinted at suicide India TV.
On 21 June 2022 Justice Mantha refused to transfer the case to the CBI. He held that the SIT "itself has implicated some police officials", so the fear of a cover-up was "devoid of merit". He found the SIT's prima facie findings "plausible" but "subject to the trial". He noted that the father's statements alleged no conspiracy and the evidence showed no injury other than from the fall. He ordered the trial to finish within six months of committal LiveLaw Maktoob.
Lapses on the part of the raiding party and the raid itself have been found faulty by the SIT.
Calcutta High Court, Salem Khan v. State of West Bengal, June 2022 (Bar and Bench)
The judgment explains why police went to the house. Howrah police's social media cell had been tracing Facebook posts it called "inflammatory" about the hijab row. Around 25 people were contacted and made to remove posts. The court said police might plausibly have been looking for Khan over his posts Bar and Bench.
The SIT's chargesheet
On 11 July 2022 the SIT filed its chargesheet in an Uluberia court. It names five Amta policemen, including the then officer-in-charge, Debabrata Chakraborty. The charges are causing death by negligence (IPC 304A), wrongful restraint (341), wrongful confinement (342), house trespass (452) and criminal conspiracy (120B). There is no murder charge PTI via Careers360 Millennium Post. It says Khan "was not murdered" and fell from the second floor. The Advocate General had admitted police negligence in court Millennium Post.
Outcome
- Death: One. The SIT says negligence, the family says murder.
- Police staff: Three suspended, two arrested, five charged.
- Charges: IPC 304A, 341, 342, 452 and 120B. No murder charge.
- Protester arrests: Unnumbered on 22 and 26 Feb. 67 on 25 Feb, per The Telegraph.
- Inquiry: State SIT under High Court watch. CBI transfer refused twice.
- Post-mortems: Two, the second after exhumation.
Where the case stands
In July 2022 Salem Khan said he would challenge the missing murder charge in the High Court PTI via Careers360. No ruling on such a challenge, and no trial verdict in the Uluberia case, could be found in reporting available up to October 2026, although the High Court had asked for the trial to finish within six months of committal.
Questions people ask
Who was Anis Khan?
A 28-year-old activist from Amta, Howrah, and Aliah University alumnus, formerly in the SFI and later the Indian Secular Front.
How did Anis Khan die?
He died after a fall from his family's house on 19 February 2022. His family says uniformed men threw him off the roof. The state SIT concluded he fell during a faulty police raid and was not murdered.
Did the Calcutta High Court order a CBI probe?
No. It refused in February 2022 and again on 21 June 2022, holding that the SIT had itself implicated police officers.
Why was there no murder charge?
The SIT found Khan fell, and the court noted no injury other than from the fall. Police were charged with causing death by negligence, trespass, confinement and conspiracy. The family rejects this.
Sources
- Scroll: Hundreds protest death of student leader Anish Khan, clash with police, 20 Feb 2022
- The Hindu: Protests erupt over death of student leader in Kolkata, 19 Feb 2022
- Maktoob: Bengal student leader earlier told police his "life is in danger", Feb 2022
- Sabrang: Student unions protest the alleged murder of activist Anis Khan, 21 Feb 2022
- PTI via EastMojo: SFI to organise protests across Bengal, 20 Feb 2022
- LiveLaw: Calcutta HC initiates suo motu proceedings, 21 Feb 2022
- The Quint: 3 cops suspended a day after Bengal govt forms SIT, 22 Feb 2022
- PTI via Outlook: Police, student clash in Kolkata, 22 Feb 2022
- PTI via Tribune: Police, student clash in Kolkata, 22 Feb 2022
- eNewsroom: Students clash with police; family adamant on CBI inquiry, 22 Feb 2022
- PTI via Tribune: Two arrested, family claims they weren't involved, 23 Feb 2022
- PTI via Outlook: Two WB police personnel arrested, 23 Feb 2022
- The Quint: Who was Anish Khan?, 24 Feb 2022
- India Today: Who was Anish Khan, 24 Feb 2022
- LiveLaw: Calcutta HC orders second post mortem, 24 Feb 2022
- Hindustan Times: Calcutta HC rules out CBI probe, asks family to cooperate, 24 Feb 2022
- eNewsroom: Arrested policemen say they visited Anish's house after OC order, 24 Feb 2022
- Sabrang: Anis Khan solidarity protests lead to police-student conflict, 26 Feb 2022
- PTI via Careers360: Left student, youth bodies clash with police, 26 Feb 2022
- PTI via EastMojo: Anis Khan's body exhumed for second autopsy, 28 Feb 2022
- LiveLaw: HC orders SIT to complete investigation within 1 month, 14 Mar 2022
- LiveLaw: HC takes on record 82-page SIT report, 19 Apr 2022
- LiveLaw: Father says SIT report declaring death non-homicidal "ridiculous", 25 Apr 2022
- India TV: Bengal police's suicide theory challenged, 25 Apr 2022
- LiveLaw: Calcutta High Court refuses CBI probe, 21 Jun 2022
- LiveLaw: SIT's prima facie findings against police officials "plausible", 21 Jun 2022
- Maktoob: Calcutta HC rules out CBI probe, Jun 2022
- Bar and Bench: Calcutta High Court finds no fault with SIT investigation, 24 Jun 2022
- PTI via Careers360: Charge sheet filed; no murder clause included, 11 Jul 2022
- Millennium Post: Anis Khan was not murdered, died due to fall from house: SIT, Jul 2022