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TMC MLA questioned by CBI in connection with murder of BJP worker
BJP worker Abhijit Sarkar was allegedly killed by TMC workers in Kolkata on May 2 last year, hours after the West Bengal assembly election results were declared.
KOLKATA: A Trinamool Congress legislator Paresh Paul was questioned by sleuths of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for around three hours on Wednesday in connection with the investigation of the murder of a Bharatiaya Janata Party (BJP) worker on May 2, 2021, soon after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government returned to power in the state.
On May 2, hours after the election results were declared, Abhijit Sarkar, a BJP worker, was allegedly dragged out of his house at Narkeldanga in Kolkata and murdered by TMC workers.
The victim’s family members alleged that Sarkar was murdered on the orders of Paul. Paul, however, rubbished the allegations. He was asked to appear before CBI by 11am on Wednesday. Paul reached the CBI office around 10.15am on Tuesday
“We don’t believe in such politics of hatred. We don’t engage in such politics in which a young man needs to be murdered. If we didn’t have public support, we wouldn’t have won by 70,000 votes in that assembly seat. The citizens are not foolish or blind,” said the septuagenarian leader after coming out of the CBI office.
There were allegations of massive post-poll violence in West Bengal after the TMC swept the 2021 Assembly polls and returned to power in May 2021 for the third time.
Sarkar’s brother, who also reached the CBI office premises, told reporters that he had come voluntarily in case the CBI wanted to make him sit face-to-face with Paul for interrogation.
“Paul had held a rally ahead of the assembly polls and had threatened that my brother and I would see hell after election results. He kept his word and my brother was murdered after the results. He masterminded the murder,” said Biswajit Sarkar, the victim’s brother.
Earlier, the federal agency summoned Anubrata Mondol, TMC’s president in Birbhum district in connection with post-poll violence. Mondol, however, skipped the summons citing health problems.
On August 19, 2021 the Calcutta high court ordered CBI to probe into the allegations of rape and murder reported after the assembly polls.
