A labour contractor from Birbhum who had been working in Chhattisgarh for the past 17 years and lent money to locals was beaten to death by alleged miscreants on Monday.

Banirul Islam, 42, was struck with a stick by two bike-borne men and thrashed to death at Chhote Kapsi village in Pakhanjore, according to eyewitnesses in the Chhattisgarh hamlet.

Banirul’s neighbours at Sammatinagar village in Raghunathganj said he had initially worked as a casual labourer and then as a mason. In the past four years, he ran his own labour-contracting business with over 30 employees, the neighbours said.

Murshidabad police chief Mukesh said he had information about “a man” from Murshidabad being murdered in Chhattisgarh. “However, we are yet to ascertain the motive,” said Mukesh, adding officers had started checking with their counterparts in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district. Chhote Kapsi is part of Kanker.

Banirul’s immediate family in Sammatinagar, around 260km from Calcutta, said he had left his home in Chhote Kapsi around 8.30am on Monday after handing his staff work for the day.

“We knew he had been trying to collect Rs 7 lakh from a contractor recently but he had been avoiding my husband. The money was needed for repairs at our home,” said Banirul’s wife Menuka Biwi, 38.

Menuka said eyewitnesses at a fast-food outlet, around 200m from Banirul’s home in Kanker, had claimed they had seen three youths strike Banirul’s moving motorcycle with a stick on Monday morning. “People said those men had fled after hitting him several times.”

Banirul died late on Monday at AIIMS Raipur. “They have arrested one person,” said a source.

Menuka alleged the contractor who owed her husband money had hired “supari killers (hitmen)”. The family appealed to local MLA Akhruzzaman to help them get government assistance. The Congress leader said he would meet chief minister on December 7 and seek help.