In continued violence, at least two persons were killed and three seriously wounded when bombs were hurled at them late on Monday night in Kankinara area of West Bengal's troubled North 24 Parganas district, police said on Tuesday. Ruling Trinamool Congress claimed the victims were supporters of the party and were targeted by miscreants hired by BJP, a charge denied by the saffron party. The two deceased were identified as Mohammed Mukhtar and Mohammed Halim, police said.
Three people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident, they added. West Bengal minister and Trinamool’s district president Jyotipriya Mallick alleged the victims were targeted by miscreants hired by BJP because they had voted for the ruling party in the state in the recent parliamentary elections.
BJP lawmaker of Barrackpore parliamentary constituency Arjun Singh, however, rubbished the allegations, saying that the incident was the result of a family feud and has no connection with politics. The incident took place on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at around 1 am in Baruipara, which is part of Barrackpore constituency, when family members of Mukhtar were sitting outside, officials said.
"Halim died on the spot, while Mukhtar succumbed at the hospital. A critically injured Mukhtar's wife is undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital along with two others," a senior police officer said. Following the incident, a large contingent policemen, along with Rapid Action Force personnel, have been deployed in the area.
Meanwhile, the BJP claimed on Monday night that a supporter of the party was strangled to death allegedly by workers of Trinamool Congress in the state's Howrah district. Though police confirmed the death of 43-year-old Samatul Doloi, whose body was found in a field in Sarpota village under Amta police station limits, officers were tight-lipped about the cause of the death.
