Trinamool leader shot dead, 2 other party workers injured in gun attack in Bengal

Malda:

Less than two weeks after the murder of Trinamool Congress councilor Dulal Sarkar, fresh violence erupted in West Bengal’s Malda district as another TMC worker was shot dead and two others, including a local committee president, were seriously injured in a gun attack on Tuesday, police say . he said.

The incident took place in Kaliaganj area under Kaliachak police station limits when TMC local committee president Bakul Sheikh and other party workers were participating in a program to inaugurate the road.

Eyewitnesses said four to five attackers arrived at the scene and fired indiscriminately at Bakul Sheikh and his associates.

Ataul Haque alias Hasu Sheikh, a TMC worker, died on the spot while Bakul Sheikh and former panchayat chief Esaruddin Sheikh sustained critical injuries.

“We are interviewing witnesses and other people. No arrest has been made in this case so far,” a police official said.

One of the party workers was pronounced dead at Malda Medical College and Hospital, while the other two are undergoing treatment there. Their condition is critical, the officer added.

According to police sources, preliminary investigation suggests that the attack may be linked to insurgency within the party.

However, senior TMC leaders, including English Bazar municipality president Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, claimed that external forces, including Bangladeshi infiltrators, could be behind the attack.

Tension has been rising in Malda since the January 2 murder of Dulal Sarkar, TMC district vice-president. He was shot dead in broad daylight near his home, allegedly over a dispute over the division of extortion money.

Seven people have been arrested in connection with Sarkar’s murder, but the case remains unsolved. The party expelled its Malda city president Narendra Nath Tiwari, who was arrested last week for his alleged involvement in a murder conspiracy.

Tuesday’s attack fueled further speculation about internal conflicts within the ruling party.

Local sources claimed that the attackers were working under the direction of TMC worker Zakir Sheikh, who allegedly had a long-standing dispute with Bakul Sheikh over territorial dominance.

The party’s Malda district president Abdul Rahim Bokshi, however, said that “Zakir Sheikh is not a TMC member.” The police launched a manhunt for the accused and fenced the area.

The series of killings has cast a shadow over the TMC’s internal dynamics in Malda, raising questions about the party leadership’s ability to control factions ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)