Congress activist arrested on murder charge

Kolkata, Jan 16 (IANS) Four people, including a Congress activist, have been arrested in a West Bengal town for their alleged involvement in the murder of a beauty parlour owner, an official said Friday.

Anjali Goswami, who ran the parlour at Suri town in Birbhum district, 200 km from here, was found murdered Nov 11 last year in a forest near a power station in the same district.

Inspector General Neeraj Narayan Pandey told reporters that Congress activist Kiriti Pal, Goswami's assistant Durga and hired killers Siddique Sheikh and Mustaque Sheikh had been charged with the crime.

Pandey said Pal befriended the victim after she inherited a lot of wealth following her parents' death. He promised to make her a Bengali film star by introducing her to the right people in the industry.

But he conspired with parlour assistant Durga and contacted two hired killers to kill Goswami.

Pal and Goswami left for Kolkata Nov 10 night on his motorcycle. The killers shot her on the way and threw her body into the forest.