Trinamool Congress councillor shot inside party office near Kolkata

A Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillor of Budge Budge Municipality, 35 km south of Kolkata was critically injured after he was shot inside a party office Monday night, police said

Mithun Thikadar was rushed to a private hospital in south Kolkata where his condition was stated to be serious. He was shot in the chest and abdomen. The two assailants also hurled bombs at him while escaping.

Trinamool workers who were present inside the party office during the attack identified the assailants as Kamal Khan and Muhammad Kaif.

“Kamal and Kaif were involved in the attack. Mithun named them while he was still conscious. The attack must have been planned by Bharatiya Janata Party because they are our biggest rival,” alleged Gautam Dasgupta, district Trinamool leader and vice-chairman of Budge Budge municipality.

The BJP dismissed the TMC’s charge.

“Trinamool leaders have realised that their regime is coming to an end. All these clashes are results of infighting over personal interests. The names of the alleged assailants should make it apparent that BJP cannot be involved in this,” said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha.

Incidentally, Thikadar too allegedly opened fire at local youths during a dispute during Durga Puja in October last year. “We are investigating whether there is a link between the two incidents,” said a district police officer who did not wish to be identified.

This is the second attack on a Bengal Trinammol leader in less in nine days. On February 9, Krishnaganj MLA from Nadia district Satyajit Biswas was shot dead by some assailants while he was watching a cultural programme near a Saraswati Puja pandal, not far from his home. Avijit

Pundari, the prime suspect in the murder was arrested in West Midnapore district on Monday morning.

Hours before he was attacked, Thikadar attended a programme organised to mark the inauguration of a road bridge by Trinamool MP and chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhisek Banerjee. He was seen beside Banerjee on the dais.

First Published: Feb 18, 2019 23:30 IST