Two arrested for Bengal BJP leader Manish Shukla's murder

KOLKATA: Two persons were arrested on Tuesday in connection with BJP leader Manish Shukla’s murder in Barrackpore on the outskirts of Kolkata. 

One of the accused is the son of a person who was murdered in 2015. During the course of the investigation, Shukla’s name emerged as a suspect. Police said the BJP leader's murder appears to be a fallout of his personal rivalry. 

"We arrested Khurram Khan and his associate Gulab Sheikh in connection with the murder. Khurram had a rivalry with Shukla since his father’s murder," said an officer of the CID.

The police said Khurram’s father Mohammad Ismail was murdered at Titagarh in 1995. "Shukla’s name was mentioned in the FIR and during the investigation, he emerged as a suspect. Khurram wanted to take revenge," said a CID officer. 

Khurram and Gulab were produced in a Barrackpore court and they were remanded to CID custody for 14 days.

Shukla’s family, however, mentioned names of two administrators in two of the TMC-dominated civic bodies and five others as accused in the FIIR.

The CID has also detained seven persons in the case. However, the firearms that were used to pump bullets into Shukla’s chest are yet to be recovered. 

Motorcycle-borne miscreants came in bikes and fired at Shukla, who was sittin in front of a tea stall in Barrackpore on Sunday night. Shukla was rushed to a private hospital where he was declared dead.

BJP’s Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh alleged that the local TMC activists were involved in the murder. He also alleged Khurram was close to several TMC heavyweights. The TMC leaders, however, refuted Singh’s allegation.