Four held for killing man during group clash in Bengal

Kolkata: Four persons were arrested on Wednesday in West Bengal's Birbhum district for the killing of a young man, Sheikh Dildar, in a group clash between supporters of two parties, police said.

They were remanded in seven-day police custody by a court.

"One person had died in a clash between the two groups on Monday. We have arrested four persons from Suri police station area," district Superintendent of Police N. Sudheer Kumar told IANS over phone.

The officer said the four accused are residents of Birbhum but did not give details on their political affiliations. The four were charged, among other offences, with murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

Dildar was shot dead during a clash between supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Birbhum's Suri on Monday afternoon, which was the last day of the extended deadline for filing of nominations for the panchayat elections. Both parties claimed he was their member.

State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh claimed that Dildar was a member of the BJP district minority cell and was killed by Trinamool Congress supporters.

On the other hand, Trinamool's district President Annubrata Mondal said Dildar and his family were actively involved with his party for many years and blamed BJP-backed goons from Jharkhand for his death.