Trinamool Congress leader shot dead, another worker’s shop torched

Police said the victim, 46-year-old Nanigopal Mondal was a para teacher in a primary school. Being a Trinamool Congress leader, he was being threatened several times in the past few days. Despite being threatened, Mondal had continued to work for the party and got engaged into debate with people in the locality claiming that Trinamool Congress will form government with a vast majority.

Preliminary investigation revealed that he was being followed, allegedly by some CPI(M) backed goons when he had left home on Tuesday. Realising that some men were following him, Mondal had stopped at various places and didn’t take the risk of returning home through a deserted road.

He had first stopped in a tea stall for a few minutes finding some of his friends gossiping among themselves and had a discussion about the election. The miscreants waited at a distance. Then he left the tea stall and entered Amaipara petrol refilling station in Jiagunj. The miscreants became impatient and opened fire at Mondal finding him standing all alone in the petrol pump.

He received bullet injuries on his stomach. The miscreants on a motorbike had managed to flee.

The workers in the petrol pump started shouting for help. People in the vicinity rushed to the spot and took him to Jiagunj Rural Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Police initiated a probe and went to the spot. Police came to know that earlier Mondal used to live at Char area in Ranitala. They had shifted to Amaipara in Jiagunj a few years ago. The victim’s wife Chandana Mondal told the investigating officers that her husband had been receiving threats from some CPI(M) workers and he had even discussed the matter with his party colleagues.

Local people staged a demonstration in the area demanding arrest of the accused as early as possible. A rally protesting the murder of the Trinamool Congress leader also held in the area. Police had picked up some youth and interrogated them to identify the accused.

Police pickets have been posted to avoid deterioration of the law and order situation in the area. Trinamool Congress leaders in the district had moved to the Election Commission to report the continuous attack on their workers and leaders since the election was announced. It may be mentioned that so far 16 Trinamool Congress workers and leaders fell victim to poll violence fin the past two months.  

In another incident of attack on Trinamool Congress, the shop of a worker of the party was torched at Ashoknagar in North 24-Paraganas. The party worker Jiban Adhikary used to set up a shop at ward number 12 of the Ashoknagar Kalyangar Municipality. Adhikary alleged that he attended the meeting and rallies in support of the candidate of Trinamool Congress in the area. Some CPI(M) workers had threatened him with dire consequences for attending the rallies and they had torched the shop at the dead of the night. He apprehends further attack on him and moved to the police.