Bengal: Suspect in murder of 3 TMC workers held; leaders visit bereaved families

One of the persons named accused in the recent murder of three workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress has been arrested in West Bengals South 24 Parganas district, police said on Saturday.A delegation of TMC MPs and MLAs met the next of kin of the three at Canning in the district and handed over Rs 4 lakh to each bereaved family.

One of the persons named accused in the recent murder of three workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress has been arrested in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, police said on Saturday.

A delegation of TMC MPs and MLAs met the next of kin of the three at Canning in the district and handed over Rs 4 lakh to each bereaved family. The party leaders also accused the BJP of being involved in the triple murder.

Local panchayat member Swapan Majhi, and two of his associates -- Bhootnath Pramanik and Jhantu Majhi – were shot and stabbed to death by unidentified people in Dharmatola area of Canning on July 7.

One of the accused, Aftabuddin Sheikh, allegedly provided information about the whereabouts of the deceased to the killers. He was arrested from Kultuli Police Station area on Friday night, a senior officer said.

The arrested person, the brother of another accused named in the FIR filed in the case, was traced through his mobile tower location and apprehended hours after Baruipur Police constituted a five-member Special Task Force to investigate the murders, she said.

''Aftabuddin Sheikh is one of the prime suspects. He had been providing information about Majhi from time to time since Wednesday. We are questioning him for more details,'' the officer said.

Majhi's brother has named six people as accused in his complaint with the police, she added. Meanwhile, TMC MP Mala Roy alleged that the BJP, aided by some other anti-social elements opposed to the growing clout of the state’s ruling party in the area, had killed the three in the most gruesome manner.

Roy, who is a member of the party delegation that visited the families of the three, said the police investigation is going on the right path and everyone involved in the murders will be arrested soon.

She told the bereaved families that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, considered the no. 2 in the party, have pledged support to them. Besides Roy, another MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and several MLAs were part of the team which met the next of kin of the three murdered men.

On the BJP’s accusation that the murders were the result of the TMC’s infighting, Ghosh Dastidar said, ''This is false. The BJP is desperate as it is losing ground in West Bengal and trying to create fear psychosis among our party supporters. Their goons are killing our men. The assailants will be punished and the truth will come out.'' Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, earlier said that the saffron party has no organisation and no manpower in that area.