In a disturbing incident, the body of a 21-year-old law student was discovered hanging inside the chamber of a local advocate in Kakdwip, South 24-Parganas district in West Bengal on Wednesday evening. The advocate, Sheikh Monowar Alam, has gone absconding after the incident, prompting a police manhunt. Police suspect the death may be a suicide linked to a personal relationship gone sour, but foul play has not been ruled out pending post-mortem results.
Sonia Halder, a first-year student at Hindu Law College and a resident of Gandhinagar in Kakdwip, used to visit the chamber of advocate, Sheikh Monowar Alam for practical training. She left home on Wednesday morning as usual to attend the training session. However, on evening, her body was found suspended from the ceiling in the chamber of the advocate at Nayapara under Pratapaditya Gram Panchayat. Sheikh Monowar Alam himself called the family to inform about the incident, and then fled before anyone arrived.
After reaching the scene, the grieving family members informed Kakdwip police, who recovered the body and transported it to Kakdwip Sub-Divisional Hospital for autopsy. A bag containing what appears to be a love letter was also retrieved from the site, which the family claims points to an intimate relationship between Halder and Alam.
According to a family member, Sheikh Monowar promised to marry her and then backed out, pushing her to this tragedy. This allegation has been added in the written complaint filed at Kakdwip police station. The complaint accuses Alam of emotional manipulation, leading to Halder’s despair. Based on this, police have registered a case of unnatural death under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and launched an investigation.
“We are investigating the case from all possible angles, including allegations made by the victim’s family. The accused lawyer is on the run, and efforts are on to trace him,” a senior police officer stated. The police have recovered the girl’s mobile phone, however, the SIM card in the phone is missing. The scene has been cordoned off for investigation.
The victim’s family added that they have been trying to call the lawyer, but his phone is switched off. The girl’s sister said, “Sheikh Manohar Alam himself informed the Kakdwip police. Since then, we have been calling him, but the phone is switched off. We think it is a murder.”
BJP alleges TMC ties
In the meanwhile Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Balurghat, Sukanta Majumdar, has alleged that the law is close to Trinamool Congress (TMC). In a post on X on Thursday, Majumdar shared images of Alam and claimed the advocate is a prominent TMC leader with close ties to party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
According to media reports, the body of a first-year Hindu law student was found hanging today inside the chamber of a lawyer named Sheikh Monowar Alam, located in the Pratapaditya Gram Panchayat area under Kakdwip Police Station in South 24 Parganas.
Reports further state that… pic.twitter.com/697RSgE8aB— Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) November 13, 2025
He wrote, “Local sources allege that Sheikh Monowar Alam is a close associate of Abhishek Banerjee and local @AITCofficial leadership. This has sparked serious questions: is the @WBPolice’s apparent inaction deliberate, intended to protect someone powerful? Or are they hesitant to pursue the case out of fear that a proper investigation might uncover a larger network involved in the systematic targeting of Hindu girls across Kakdwip and surrounding areas?”
Majumdar, a Union Minister of State for Education and Development of North Eastern Region, also alleged that the “the investigation appears stagnant, with no progress in locating the accused.”