BARRACKPORE: A Trinamool Congress activist was hacked to death by miscreants at Jagaddal in North 24 Parganas late Wednesday and a BJP office was gutted in a fire in Titagarh's Koyrapur area early on Thursday, sparking a blame game between the rival political parties.
Akash Prasad (26) was from Ward 12 of Bhatpara Municipality, which is on BJP MP Arjun Singh's turf. "My son got a call on Wednesday night asking him to step out of the house, which he refused to do. A local youth, Ashoke Shaw, barged in and dragged my son out of the house. His body was recovered late in the night," claimed the victim's father.
Shaw's neighbours from Jagaddal's Palghat Road said the incident took place at around 11.30 pm. Akash's body was found lying in a pool of blood in an abandoned field barely 300 metres from his house. Multiple injury marks indicated the assailants had used sharp weapons, a police officer said. They apparently also set off bombs beside Akash to ensure he was dead, the police said. The main accused, Ashoke Shaw, has been arrested.
"The murder was done by people on the instructions of BJP MP Arjun Singh," North 24 Parganas' Trinamool chief Jyotipriya Mullick alleged. Akash became the target after he brought as many as 123 BJP supporters into the Trinamool fold, Mullick claimed.
The BJP MP rubbished the charge.