A 21-year-old BJP worker was shot dead in West Burdwan’s Kanksa on Sunday night while he was on his way back home after attending a party meeting to discuss Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed Durgapur rally on December 24.
The BJP has alleged Trinamul Congress-backed men gunned down Sandeep Kumar Ghosh, an engineering diploma student. Trinamul denied the charge.
Police sources said Sandeep was riding pillion on another party worker’s motorcycle around 10.10pm when about 15 armed men intercepted the two-wheeler and shot him in the head from close proximity. Joydeep Banerjee, who was riding the bike, was allegedly beaten up. He was admitted to a private hospital in Durgapur.
Sandeep’s father Bijoy has been a Trinamul worker since its inception in 1998 and is a former anchal (area) president of the party. “I have been a soldier of Mamata Banerjee since 1998. I never thought Trinamul could kill my only son just because he is a BJP worker. Trinamul-hired goons have killed my son,” said Bijoy, a security guard at a factory.
BJP state general-secretary Sayantan Basu said: “Trinamul-backed goons involved in illegal sand and coal mining killed BJP booth president while he was returning home after attending a party meeting. Trinamul has unleashed politics of murder in Bengal. Law and order has collapsed.”
The BJP has called for a 12-hour bandh in the Durgapur subdivision on Tuesday.
BJP workers led by Basu and the party’s state women’s wing chief, Locket Chatterjee, sat on a dharna on NH2 at the Muchipara crossing here for an hour on Monday evening with Ghosh’s body. They were demanding the arrest of Sheikh Saiful, a Trinamul leader from Kanksa’s Molandighi, and a CBI probe.
The BJP alleged that Saiful was the prime accused in the case. “We have detained some persons in connection with the murder and investigation is on. I cannot say more on this now,” said deputy commissioner of police Abhishek Modi.
Trinamul’s West Burdwan district president V. Sivadasan said: “Nobody from our party was involved in the murder. They are trying to drag Trinamul’s name into everything in a desperate bid to retain the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, which they know they will lose this time.”
Traffic came to a grinding halt on NH2 because of the BJP dharna on the Calcutta-bound lane. The agitation was withdrawn at 6pm after the police had promised prompt action.
The BJP leaders later went to Sandeep’s residence in Kanksa’s Roopgunj with his body.
Earlier in the day, BJP workers led by Chatterjee had jostled with the police and demonstrated with Ghosh’s body in Asansol. The altercation was triggered by the police’s refusal to allow them to take out a procession.
The BJP workers tried to breach police barricades in front of the Asansol District Hospital. “We have no faith in the state police or the CID. We demand a CBI probe. We have given the names of the accused to the police, but no arrest has been made yet,” said Chatterjee.
“Starting from Purulia, one after another, our party workers have been killed by the ruling party. We will spread the movement across the state,” she added.
