BJP supporters hold placards as they observe 'Black day' during a silent protest rally against the recent kill... Read More

KOLKATA: Another grisly murder on Monday, within a day of the first killing, intensified the political violence and vitriolic blame-game between BJP and Trinamool in the state.

On Monday, BJP worker Samatul Dolui's body hanging from a tree near a field was discovered by residents of Sarpota village in Howrah's Amta. Dolui's family and BJP netas in Howrah were quick to blame Trinamool. "Dolui was active in BJP and gave the party a lead from his booth in the Lok Sabha polls. He had received death threats soon after he took out 'Jai Sri Ram' rallies in the locality. Trinamool-backed anti-socials ransacked his house immediately after polls," said BJP's Howrah (rural) president Anupam Mullick.

When some miscreants tried to snatch Dolui's body while it was being taken for post-mortem, villagers protested, prompting the district administration to deploy RAF.

A day earlier, on Sunday, an RSS veteran, Swadesh Manna, too was found hanging from a tree in Atchata village. Manna had also been taking out local 'Jai Sri Ram' rallies for the past few days. "In both cases, Trinamool supporters have killed our party workers," Mullick alleged. The murders threw up a recall of similar killings in Purulia in the run-up to the 2018 panchayat polls when BJP workers had been found hanging from poles. But unlike in Purulia, Dolui's body had no posters attached.

Trinamool MLA Pulak Roy denied his party men's involvement. "BJP is trying to shame us. But none of our workers is linked to it," he said. In another incident in Sodepur, two disgruntled security men Rakesh Das (38) and Sujit Biswas (40) were beaten up with iron rods by suspected members of Trinamool's trade union wing Inttuc. Das and Biswas had tried to float a BJP-affiliated union. The duo was rushed to hospital. A complaint has been lodged against six Inttuc 'members' at Khardah police station.

BJP workers hit the streets to protest the Sandeshkhali killings in North 24 Parganas barely two days ago, blocking rail tracks on the Sealdah-Basirhat section as part of a 12-hour BJP bandh in South 24 Parganas.

In Midnapore's Keshiary, BJP workers led by state unit president Dilip Ghosh flouted norms after district administration stalled formation of panchayat board citing the Sandeshkhali tension. "It is only a bid to stop us from forming the board when we have majority. Trinamool marauders are shooting our men in daylight. But people are with us," Ghosh said.

Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee claimed a grave conspiracy by BJP in their workers targeting Trinamool activists and police. "

Mamata: BJP planning riots, govt dismissal

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday charged the BJP-led Centre with trying to “dislodge” her government and working with the party’s Bengal unit to instigate riots in districts on the India-Bangladesh border to “turn Bengal into Gujarat”.

She remained the lone strong voice against the BJP in the country, Banerjee said, accusing BJP of using the post-poll clashes as a pretext to trouble her government. “Two were killed in Sandeshkhali. But senior BJP netas are saying five were killed. Don’t insult Bengal. Here women move around freely at night. They are trying to create communal strife. They want to dislodge my government,” she said at Nabanna.

The CM reminded the home ministry that a “mauled tigress” was even more dangerous, a day after the home ministry sent a terse advisory to the state, accusing it of failing to maintain rule of law following the Sandeshkhali violence. Banerjee also mentioned the switchover of GJM councillors to BJP in Darjeeling .

“All these councillors were kept under house arrest in Nepal. They did not return to the Hills but went straight to Delhi and joined BJP,” she said. The CM also said people from across the international border may have been brought into Bengal to incite violence. “The Centre has cancelled visas of two Bangladeshi actors simply standing by at a Trinamool rally but is silent on another actor of Bangladeshi origin who has joined BJP,” she said, referring to Bangladeshi actor Anju Ghosh.BJP’s surge in Bengal was not the result of a public mandate, Banerjee said, accusing it of improving its state tally by inciting communal sentiments, luring voters with money



In Video: Shocking: BJP, RSS men found hanging from trees in West Bengal