Who was Anish Khan, the student leader whose death has brought Bengal to the streets

Last week, 28-year-old student leader Anish Khan was allegedly murdered in West Bengal's Howrah. His death has sparked huge student protests in the state.

Last week, 28-year-old student leader Anish Khan was allegedly murdered in West Bengal's Howrah. He was purportedly thrown off the roof of his house by unidentified persons in the Amta area of Howrah.

The killing of student leader Anish Khan has sparked a widespread protest movement across West Bengal. Hundreds of students of various universities are staging protests every day, thereby mounting pressure on the government. But who was Anish Khan?

Anish Khan was a university student from Amta village in West Bengal's Howrah. He was the youngest of three siblings and had recently lost his mother.

Anish's family lives in a three-storey building, half of which is not constructed fully. Anish had always been a bright student and did a five-year course at Aliah University in Kolkata. At the time of his death, he was studying Journalism and Mass Communication at Kalyani University. As a child, he studied at the village school.

He was actively involved in student politics and vocal about many issues, including on social media. Earlier with CPI(M)'s student wing SFI, he later joined the Indian Secular Front (ISF). He was a prominent face of the protests in Kolkata against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

A few days before his death, he condemned the hijab ban at educational institutes in Karnataka in a Facebook post. He also criticised Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for remaining silent on the issue in a post dated February 9.

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