KOLKATA: Two Jharkhand residents were arrested for shooting in the head of a three-year-old at Manikchak gram panchayat in Malda district of West Bengal on August 30 after the victim's mother, a winning panchayat candidate of BJP, had joined TMC to form panchayat board in the gram panchayat.
Two country guns were recovered from accused Md Murej and Md Sanowar. They were suspected to have crossed river Ganga to enter West Bengal. The condition of the child continues to remain critical. He is under medical observation at Malda Medical College and Hospital.
On the other hand, one person was arrested for killing a TMC leader at Itahar in Uttar Dinajpur. Investigation has revealed that the accused Sukumar Das had old enmity with the victim Bikash Mazumdar.
A preliminary investigation found that the accused was arrested in 2014 for sexual assault of a minor and convicted based on Bikash Mazumdar's statement, who was also the prime witness in the case. He had then threatened to kill Bikash.
The accused was released on bail earlier this year and had again threatened to kill Bikash Mazumdar. The accused was identified by his white car which was known in the area. He has been arrested and is being interrogated.
Meanwhile, a dead body of a TMC booth committee member was found in a pond in Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district on Sunday evening, taking the total toll of people killed over political violence over the past one week to 12.
Family of victim Shibu Debnath (52) claimed that BJP workers were behind the murder. Local TMC leader Kaiser Ahmed said that BJP and RSS were trying to gain a foothold in the area and the victim acted as a hurdle. On the other hand, BJP denied any links with the murder and put the blame on TMC's internal feud.