Three workers of the Trinamool Congress, including a panchayat member, were attacked and killed in Canning, in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Thursday. They were on their way to participate in a meeting on the preparation for the party Martyrs’ Day rally, scheduled in Kolkata on July 21.
The unknown assailants intercepted Trinamool Congress member of Gopalpur Gram Panchayat Swapan Majhi, and the party’s local booth presidents Bhutnath Pramanik and Jhantu Halda near the Pier Park area. They first fatally attacked Swapan Majhi and then chased and killed the other two.
Empty cartridges and a motorbike were recovered from the site. The bodies were sent for post mortem.
The killing of the three local leaders spread shock waves in political circles. Saukat Mollah, Trinamool Congress MLA from Canning Purba, said they were planned murders. He blamed the BJP. Some TMC leaders said supporters of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) were behind the crime. Trinamool Congress MLA from Canning Paschim, Paresh Ram Das, said Swapan Majhi had told him a few days ago that there was a threat to his life.
Family members of the deceased suspected personal enmity behind the murders. The State BJP leadership blamed factional feud in the Trinamool Congress. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the police in West Bengal were busy giving security to the Chief Minister and such incidents were on the rise.
On July 4, a youth was killed at Domkal in Murshidabad district while allegedly trying to assemble crude bombs in an open field.
