TMC leader's murder: Amidst a spate of violent incidents ahead of West Bengal panchayat elections, two persons were arrested on Friday who were 'directly involved' in the murder of a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader in Purulia district, informed the police.
Dhananjay Chaubey, the president of TMC's Adra town, was shot dead on Thursday at the party office in the Pandey Market area.
"We have arrested two persons who are directly involved in the murder. From the CCTV footage of the area, it seems three or more persons could be involved. We have started a search for them," a police official said.
Meanwhile, Chaubey's bodyguard was also injured in the attack and had to undergo surgery.
Situation in West Bengal
The violent situation in West Bengal, ahead of the panchayat elections for 75,000 seats on June 8, has continued to increase for the past few days. On June 20, a shop and a house were vandalised and torched by an unruly mob in the Muribasti area over the alleged murder of a local villager.
A CPI(M) worker died on Wednesday at a nursing home in Siliguri from injuries suffered during a clash at Chopra in North Dinajpur district on June 15, the last day of nomination filing for the West Bengal panchayat elections. The party activist had suffered a bullet injury and was also allegedly beaten with sticks, CPI-(M) leader said.
In light of the situation, the Calcutta High Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate violent incidents involving the submission of nominations for the West Bengal panchayat elections.
Opposition parties in Bengal have alleged that their candidates and supporters faced violence and intimidation by TMC activists, while the ruling party has blamed the opposition for clashes at different places in the state during nomination filing and withdrawal of candidature period.
(With PTI inputs)
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