A 43-year-old share trader, Debdeep Chatterjee, was beaten to death allegedly by a mob in Asansol on Saturday after an argument broke out when his car brushed against a parked motorbike near his home, The Telegraph reported.
His wife, Piyali Chatterjee, told the newspaper that the incident took place around 1 am when she, her husband and their 10-year-old son were returning home after attending a party. After their car brushed against a parked motorbike outside their housing complex, a group of men stopped them.
Debdeep Chatterjee got out of the car and apologised, but an argument broke out and he was assaulted.
Local Congress leaders alleged that those who attacked him were aides of a Trinamool Congress leader.
Debdeep Chatterjee, a Congress supporter, was allegedly punched multiple times, fell to the ground and hit his head, losing consciousness. He was taken to hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, The Telegraph reported.
Police said the body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. Three persons have been arrested, IANS reported.
The Congress’ West Bengal unit condemned the killing and alleged that the attackers were linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress. It said the incident showed a “complete collapse of law and order” in the state and raised concerns about the safety of Opposition workers.
“The fact that such violence has occurred immediately after polling highlights a deeply disturbing pattern of political intimidation and vendetta,” the party said.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi described the incident as “utterly reprehensible”.
“In West Bengal today, it is not democracy but TMC's reign of terror that prevails,” he said. “Intimidating, attacking, and eliminating opposing voices after votes are cast – this has become the defining character of TMC.”
However, Trinamool Congress leaders said that the allegations were “baseless”, The Telegraph reported.
“The Congress has no credibility in Asansol, and so they are cooking up stories and bringing false allegations against us to drag the attention of the media,” the party’s district convenor V Sivadasan Dasu said.
While the Trinamool Congress and the Congress are part of the Opposition INDIA bloc at the Centre, they are contesting the West Bengal polls separately. The first phase of polling was held on Thursday. The second phase will be conducted on April 29 and votes will be counted on May 4.
Read Scroll’s coverage of the West Bengal Assembly elections here.
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