TMC leader shot dead, assailant lynched

TMC leader, Saifuddin Laskar, was shot dead in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Monday.

Joynagar (WB): A local Trinamool Congress leader was shot dead at Joynagar in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Monday morning, which led to the lynching of an alleged assailant by a mob, police said. Saifuddin Laskar (47), TMC area president of Bamungachi area in Joynagar was shot dead from close range near his house by miscreants when he went out to offer prayers in the morning, the police said.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Enraged supporters of Laskar, whose wife is a panchayat pradhan, caught two of the alleged assailants and lynched one of them. Another was rescued and arrested by the police, which rushed to the spot.

A large police contingent was deployed in the area after the incident. Local MLA Biswanath Das claimed that goons supported by the CPI-M and BJP were behind the murder. Eyewitnesses and police said that a number of houses were ransacked, looted and set on fire in neighbouring Daluakhali village after the incident.

Some of the affected people of Daluakhali claimed that their houses were targeted and many of them were assaulted as they are CPI-M supporters. They also claimed that their houses were set on fire in the presence of the police and fire engines were prevented from dousing the flames.

CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said "The incident is reminiscent of the Bogtui carnage. At least 10 people were killed in arson and violence after the murder of local TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh in Bogtui in Birbhum district in March 2022. "The murder of Saifuddin Laskar is the result of internal strife within the TMC, it is no use blaming the CPI(M)," he said.

Every death is unfortunate and police must conduct a "proper investigation" to nab Laskar's killers and unravel the conspiracy behind the murder, Chakraborty added.