A Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was allegedly shot dead while visiting a colleague’s residence in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Monday. The victim, identified as Bijan Das, served as the deputy head of Guma 1 Panchayat. He was visiting his colleague’s house when he was shot dead.
Manav Kalyan Majumdar, another TMC leader, who immediately arrived at the scene upon learning of the incident, alleged opposition being behind the murder to instill fear among the ruling party leaders so that they fail to fulfill their responsibilities.
“I feel this is a complete conspiracy by the opposition party, especially in West Bengal, where the TMC is working for the people, and the opposition is resorting to such conspiracies to create fear among us – targeting the head, deputy head, and regional leader so that they cannot fulfill their responsibilities. This is a complete opposition conspiracy,” he said, as per ANI.
“I heard that Bijan Das, the deputy head of the Panchayat, was shot, and upon receiving the news, I reached the incident spot. It was revealed that a man named Gautam Das was suspected of murdering Bijan. Police officers are present, conducting an investigation,” he added.
Expressing concerns about the unprecedented nature of such incidents, Majumdar remarked, “Such incidents are unprecedented. The head and deputy head have to work around the clock, and if someone calls us at night or if we go out at night, and someone targets us, it becomes very difficult for us.”
He also urged the government to catch the culprit and give appropriate punishment to prevent such incidents in the future.
This incident comes amid unrest in Sandeshkali, which has been tense since the first week of February when villagers went on a rampage, accusing TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides of land grabbing and sexual harassment.
Sheikh has been evading authorities since a mob attacked an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team during raids at his residence in Sandeshkhali on January 5.