A Trinamool Congress leader was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Kolkata’s Nimta locality on Tuesday, NDTV reported. The crime was captured on closed-circuit television cameras. The footage shows Nirmal Kundu talking to local people when a bike rider shoots him twice.
Four people, including BJP supporter Suman Kundu, were arrested and produced in a court in Barrackpore, News18 reported. The Trinamool Congress blamed the saffron party for the murder of the 35-year-old Trinamool Congress leader, who succumbed to injuries on the way to a hospital.
However, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh refuted the allegation, claiming that Kundu’s murder was a result of a fight between factions of the ruling party. “Whenever there is any political murder, the Trinamool Congress blames the BJP,” Ghosh told The Hindu. “The TMC [Trinamool Congress] has tried to link my even my name in the murder of a person in Kharagpur.” Infighting in the Trinamool Congress has caused the law-and-order situation in the state to deteriorate, Ghosh alleged.
Barrackpore Police Commissioner Tanmay Ray Chaudhuri said some people have been detained for interrogation. The home of one of the suspects was ransacked by local people, NDTV reported, while Suman Kundu’s home was reportedly torched by angry Trinamool Congress supporters.
One of the accused, who hails reportedly from Murshidabad district, allegedly hired a contract killer to murder Nirmal Kundu, News18 reported.
Trinamool Congress and BJP workers have clashed frequently since the Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party won 18 of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, securing 16 more seats than the 2014 General Elections. Last week, two Trinamool Congress legislators and more than 60 councillors joined the BJP.
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