KOLKATA: A BJP worker was killed during a clash between the saffron party activists and Trinamool supporters at Arambagh in Hooghly district of West Bengal on Sunday.
The victim was identified as Amir Ali Khan (27), police said. As word of Amir’s death spread, hundreds of BJP supporters put up roadblocks at several places and staged a demonstration. A Trinamool office was allegedly ransacked and furniture set ablaze.
A large police contingent was deployed to bring the situation under control and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were also called in to patrol the area. The BJP’s district leadership called for a 12-hour strike in Arambagh sub-division. Police arrested three persons, who are known to be local Trinamool workers.
BJP’s Hooghly district president Biman Ghosh claimed Amir and two other party workers had left home for a morning stroll on Sunday when they were intercepted by a group of Trinamool supporters. “Amir and two others were brutally assaulted with sticks and rods.
They fell unconscious and the attackers fled. The three injured were taken to a local hospital where Amir succumbed to his injuries,” Ghosh said.
Trinamool’s district leadership, however, claimed none of their party workers was involved in the incident.