Tensions simmer in two WB villages day after TMC leader’s murder
At least 15 houses were set ablaze by a mob in a retaliatory attack after the TMC leader’s murder at Joynagar in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district
Tensions ran high at Joynagar in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Tuesday where a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was shot dead and at least 15 houses were set ablaze by a mob in a retaliatory attack on Monday.
After the TMC leader was killed, villagers lynched one of the assailants and another was thrashed before being handed over to the police.
“We have registered three separate cases. Raids are going on. One person has been arrested,” said a senior IPS officer of Baruipur police district.
On Tuesday, large police contingents were deployed in the villages of Daluakhaki and Bamungachi in Joynagar to maintain law and order, officials said.
Meanwhile, a CCTv footage, which surfaced on Tuesday, showed TMC leader Saifuddin Laskar (47) walking down the road, wearing a white Punjabi and a skullcap, a little after 5am on Monday. Seconds later, five men could be spotted following the TMC leader on two motorcycles. HT couldn’t check the authenticity of the footage.
“He was shot dead from close range minutes later. The sound of gunfire alerted the locals who chased the attackers. As they were fleeing, the bikes collided with a vehicle coming from the opposite direction. The attackers abandoned the bikes and tried to flee while trying to take cover in the paddy field. Two were caught,” said a police officer.
While one attacker identified as Sahabuddin Lashkar was lynched, the second one identified as Saharul Sheikh was thrashed and handed over to the police. Saharul is learnt to have told police during interrogation that Sahabuddin was allegedly given the contract to kill the TMC leader.
Some villagers alleged that one of the motorcycles which the killers used belonged to Anisur Lashkar, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) worker from Daluakhaki village. The family of the slain TMC leader has also named Anisur in their complaint.
“Nothing can be divulged at this stage. Investigation is going on. We are probing all angles. The statements given by the accused are being verified and raids are going on,” said an IPS officer.
Saharul was produced before the court on Tuesday. He was sent to police custody for 10 days.
“My husband was at home the whole night. In the morning we got a news that police and villagers were coming to catch him as his name has surfaced in the murder case. Since then he fled. I don’t know where he is now. He is not involved in the murder,” Manjira Lashkar, wife of Anisur told the media on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, some women, whose houses were set on fire by the mob in Daluakhaki village, took shelter in a CPI(M) party office. Most of the men had fled from the village.
A team of senior CPI(M) leaders met the families at the party office. They were, however, not allowed to visit the Daluakhaki village. ISF legislator Nawsad Siddique, who also reached Joynagar, was also stopped from going to the spot.