With increasing number of lower and middle rung Trinamool Congress leaders being attacked by unknown assailants, the Bengal police has decided to review the security of all the State TMC leaders, sources said.
At least five TMC organisers, including an MLA from Nadia district, have been bumped off in the last one month. While the TMC leadership have pointed its fingers at the killers backed by the BJP and RSS. The latter have accused the vicious interest grouping within the Bengal ruling outfit.
“We have lost at least five small and middle rung leaders in the past 4-5 weeks,” a TMC MLA from North 24 Pargana said adding he too was facing threat to his life from the suspected undercover saffron operatives.
He has written to the Superintendent of Police for reviewing his security, the panicked leader said adding “I have one security personnel. I have asked for one more as they (the assailants) are emerging from nowhere and coming in groups.”
At the senior level police sources said they had decided to review the security of MLAs, MPs and even the Ministers, particularly from North Bengal. In South Bengal too the leaders’ security were likely to be reviewed particularly in Hooghly, East and West Midnapore, two 24 Parganas and Nadia, sources said.
While unknown assailants on Saturday evening shot dead Satyajit Biswas a vocal and active TMC MLA and organiser from Ranaghat-Hanskhali region of Nadia a former block president Ajit Pandit was dealt near fatal injury at Keshpur in West Midnapore on Monday. His brother Nanda Pandit was literally lynched while.
Miles away on the same day in Hooghly the police recovered the body of Ritesh Roy a popular TMC leader from Kanthi. Roy’s body was found by a State highway, sources said. Roy, 45, was a cooperative society chairman from East Midnapore’s Marishda village. He was found dead near Hooghly's Dadpur village. He had been missing since February 7.
A few weeks ago on January 21 two TMC leaders were murdered at Dalkhola in North Dinajpur district of North Bengal. On the same day a TMC youth leader was shot dead at Alipurduar while on the next day another TMC leader was killed at North Dinajpur.
Reacting to the recent killings senior leader and Birbhum district TMC president Anubrata Mondal said how the BJP was targeting his party men but added the Trinamool Congress would retaliate in equally measures.
“We are a peace-loving people and hate violence. But the leftovers of the CPI(M)’s harmad brigade are now joining the BJP and attacking us. But they should remember that the people will retaliate in equal measures. Each such killing will be taken account of,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Mukul Roy on Tuesday approached the Calcutta High Court for anticipatory bail in the Nadia Trinamool MLA murder case. Roy’s name figured in the FIR of Krishnaganj MLA Satyajit Biswas’ murder.