KOLKATA: The ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP engaged in a blame game today over the gruesome murder of a college student in North 24-Parganas district holding each other responsible for the incident, even as one person was arrested and remanded to seven-day police custody.
BJP state president Rahul Sinha visited the house of Sourav Chowdhury, whose dismembered body was found yesterday beside the railway line at Duttapukur, and demanded a CBI investigation into the killing.
"As the accused persons are from the ruling party, we do not feel that the state police will be able to hold an independent probe, so we want a CBI investigation into the killing," Sinha said, claiming that the 21-year old student was a BJP activist.
Trinamool Congress North 24-Parganas district president Jyotipriyo Mullick rubbished the claim, saying that Chowdhury was a supporter of Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad, the students' wing of the ruling party.
"I can tell you that Sourav was a TMCP supporter. His family members may have been supporters of a different party, but he was certainly with us," he told reporters.
"The main accused Shyamal Karmakar was seen in several BJP rallies in the locality," Mullick, the West Bengal Food and Supplies minister, claimed.
The BJP state president, however, claimed the opposite saying that while Karmakar was a Trinamool Congress supporter, the slain student was a BJP activist.
While BJP observed a 12-hour bandh in Duttapukur area protesting against the murder, the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad has planned to observe a black day tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Anup Talukdar, who was one of the accused named in the FIR, was arrested in a raid in the area on the charges of kidnapping and murdering Sourav Chowdhury, Additional Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said.
Talukdar was later produced before the Barasat district court and was remanded to seven-day police custody.
Sourav's severed body was found between Bamungachi and Duttapukur railway stations yesterday morning. The 21-year-old student was kidnapped by a gang from near his house.
It was being alleged that Sourav was killed as he had started a drive against hooch dens run by Karmakar, the prime accused in the case, who is absconding.
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