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WB: TMC panchayat samity leader shot at in Cooch Behar; BJP MLA’s son arrested
Police said they have also seized the MLA’s vehicle which they said was allegedly used in the crime.
The West Bengal police on Friday arrested the son of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator after a panchayat samiti leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) was shot at on Thursday night in Cooch Behar district.
The accused, Dipankar Roy, is the son of Sukumar Roy, BJP MLA from Cooch Behar (North). BJP has refuted the allegations and said that Raju Dey, the TMC leader, was attacked because of factional feuds within the party. Dey’s condition was stated to be stable.
Police said they have also seized the MLA’s vehicle which they said was allegedly used in the crime.
“We have arrested two persons. A black-coloured SUV, which the attackers had used, has also been seized. Search for two more persons, named in the FIR, has been going on,” said Dyutiman Bhattacharya, superintendent of police of Cooch Behar district.
Police said that the incident took place around 10:40pm on Thursday in the Pundibari area when Dey was returning home on a two-wheeler. The attackers arrived in a SUV and shot him. He suffered a bullet injury on his right shoulder. The victim was rushed to a local hospital where he had to undergo a surgery.
“We gathered CCTV footage from the area. Investigation revealed that the SUV belongs to the MLA. His son has been arrested. One more person named Uttam Gupta has been arrested,” said another officer.
The TMC since Friday morning blocked roads at multiple points in the district, including Pundibari, demanding the attackers be arrested. They alleged that the BJP was behind it.
“Dey was shot at by the BJP MLA’s son on his father’s instructions. The BJP MLA is behind this,” alleged Partha Pratim Roy, former TMC MP from Cooch Behar.
“These are baseless allegations. Anywhere anything happens, BJP leaders and workers are being implicated by the ruling party and its police. The BJP is in no way involved in this. This is a result of the TMC’s factional feud. Dey has multiple enemies. We don’t believe in such politics of murder,” Sukumar Roy told media persons.
“The BJP MLA is trying to pass it off as a factional feud of the TMC hoping that he can get off with it,” said Shashi Panja, state minister, told media persons.
