TMC leader shot dead in Bengal’s Howrah district, mob ransacks buses, shops

A Trinamool Congress youth leader from Howrah district, was gunned down by motorcycle-borne assailants in the Shalimar area on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Dharmendra Singh was riding pillion on a party worker’s motorcycle around 4 pm when the hitmen blocked their path and opened fire in front of eyewitnesses. Singh was rushed to a private hospital but succumbed to bullet injuries.

Singh was associated with real estate business, local TMC workers told the police. “An investigation is on. No arrest was made till 9 pm,” an officer from the local police station said on condition of anonymity.

TMC workers went on the rampage after the incident and ransacked four buses and several shops. They also set fire to some two-wheelers. The Rapid Action Force had to be deployed to disperse the mob.

Some unidentified men also broke into the residence of a local youth, Vicky Singh, around 6.30 pm and ransacked it before setting the furniture on fire around. Sigh and his wife, who had moved into the apartment about six months ago, were not present when the incident took place. The apartment was locked from outside. Two fire tenders brought the blaze under control.

Arup Roy, the local TMC legislator and minister alleged that the murder was possibly carried out by hitmen sent by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but did not make any specific complaint.

Surajit Saha, president of the BJP’s Howrah town unit, dismissed the allegation saying the murder was a fallout of rivalry between two groups in the TMC. He also alleged that the deceased had faced criminal charges in the past.