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Main suspect in TMC worker’s murder during Bengal bypolls arrested: Police
The murder took place at a tea stall around 9am on November 13 when byelection at the adjacent Naihati seat was on
The main suspect in the November 13 murder of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker at Jagatdal in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district during the byelections at six assembly constituencies in the state has been arrested, the Barrackpore police commissioner, Alok Rajoria, said on Monday.
The principal suspect, identified as Sujal Prasad, was arrested along with two associates involved in the murder. The firearms used in the crime were also recovered from Sujal Prasad’s home.
“Ashok Shaw, the deceased, was an accused in the 2020 murder of Akash Prasad, Sujal’s brother. Shaw was arrested in 2020 but later released on bail. Sujal wanted to take revenge,” Rajoria told the media.
The murder took place at a tea stall around 9 am when byelection at the adjacent Naihati seat was on.
“Three men came walking and fired at Shaw when he was having tea at the roadside shop. The assailants also threw a bomb before escaping,” Rajoria said.
Immediately after the incident, Sujit Singh, a friend of the deceased, claimed before the media that Ashok escaped a similar attempt on his life in 2023.
“These crimes are a fallout of rivalry between various groups involved in criminal activities,” Singh said on that day.
TMC’s Jagatdal legislator Somnath Shyam did not comment on the accusations.
The bypoll at Naihati was held because former minister Partha Bhowmick, who represented the seat, won the Barrackpore Lok Sabha election earlier this year defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s sitting MP Arjun Singh.
“The murder took place within 50 mt of Bhatpara police station. This exposes the condition of law and order at Jagatdal,” Arjun Singh said.
As many as 108 companies of Central paramilitary forces were deployed across the six seats that went to polls.
Elections were held at Sitai (SC), Madarihat (ST), Naihati, Haroa, Midnapore and Taldangra because the incumbent MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha. Five of these seats were won by TMC in 2021 while Madarihat was bagged by BJP.
