A long-term close aide of West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was shot dead in Madhyamgram area near Kolkata on Wednesday night, triggering tension in the locality and prompting a police investigation, the senior BJP leader confirmed on Wednesday.
The victim has been identified as Chandranath Dutt, personal assistant to Adhikari. According to initial inputs, the incident involved an exchange of fire in which at least four rounds were reportedly fired before Chandra was fatally shot.
According to sources, Dutt was shot from close range in his car and suffered injuries to his chest and head. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Suvendu Adhikari reached the hospital shortly after the attack.
Chandra’s car was chased by another vehicle and brought to a halt after being overtaken. The assailants then opened fire from outside the vehicle. Both Chandra and the driver were injured in the attack. The driver is being treated at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata and is currently in critical condition.
Visuals showed the car’s left front window cracked with bullet holes.
“Someone followed his car and when it slowed down, they opened fire,” the source told India Today TV.
Meanwhile, heavy security has been deployed outside the hospital.
The killing took place in Madhyamgram, on the outskirts of Kolkata. Details about the assailants and the exact sequence of events remain unclear at this stage.
Police have launched an investigation into the attack. The incident is expected to intensify political tensions in the state, with more clarity likely once authorities release an official statement.
The BJP has alleged Trinamool Congress’s role behind the attack. “We have been preaching peace but TMC has made the biggest blunder,” newly elected BJP MLA Tarunjyoti Tewari said.
POST-POLL VIOLENCE
The attack came amid sporadic incidents of violence being reported in West Bengal since the BJP’s sweeping electoral victory, in which it secured 207 of the 294 Assembly seats, ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule in the state.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar directed the authorities concerned to immediately arrest those involved in post-poll violence and vandalism in West Bengal. The directive came after a BJP and a Trinamool worker were killed in saperate incidents of post-poll violence.
According to police, the BJP worker, Madhu Mondal, died after allegedly being beaten by TMC supporters during a victory procession in New Town on Tuesday evening. Earlier in the same day, TMC worker Abir Sheikh was allegedly hacked to death by BJP activists in Nanoor, Birbhum, police said.
In earlier incidents of arson and vandalism, the election office of TMC candidate and former minister Aroop Biswas was attacked by a mob in the Bijoygarh-Netajinagar area of Tollygunge. Some individuals were seen kicking broken hoardings before leaving the spot.
At Ruby Crossing in Kasba, the office of TMC councillor Sushanta Ghosh was ransacked by a crowd carrying BJP flags.
In Panihati Assembly constituency, where Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder victim, defeated TMC’s Tirthankar Ghosh by 28,836 votes, a party office was vandalised overnight. Posters and hoardings were torn down during the attack.
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