BJP workers protest against the killing of a party leader in Kolkata on Saturday. (PTI)
A local BJP leader was hacked to death in Mandir Bazar area of South 24 Parganas on Friday night. Police arrested two men in connection with the incident, on Saturday afternoon. Police said Shaktipada Sardar (45), secretary of the BJP mandal committee for Mandir Bazar, was returning home when he was attacked. Locals later found him lying on the road and took him to Diamond Harbour hospital, from where he was sent to a hospital in Kolkata. He died en route to the city hospital, said police.“He was attacked with sharp weapons and had cuts on his body. The body has been sent for autopsy,” Sundarbans SP Tathagata Basu told The Sunday Express. “Two persons, Goutam Mondal and Abdul Haq Molla, have been arrested… Prima facie, the motive seems to be an old grudge. However, it’s too early to ascertain the exact reason,” he added.
After the incident, BJP leaders blockaded a road for around three hours, blaming the Trinamool Congress for the murder and demanding the arrest of the accused. Sardar’s wife Sujata filed a complaint against eight people, following which a case was registered under sections 302/34 (murder/acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Speaking to The Sunday Express, BJP South 24 Parganas district president Abhijeet Das said, “He has been brutally murdered by TMC goons.” When contacted, Trinamool Congress district leader Subhasis Chakraborty said, “I am out and not really aware about it.”
Another TMC leader, on condition of anonymity, said, “This is nothing new. The BJP always blames the TMC. Police will do their job, whoever is found committing murder will face consequences. They (BJP) have a lot of internal issues and groupism.”