A Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker was murdered Friday night in Dubrajpur area of West Midnapore, the district headquarters of West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district. The ruling party has accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress of playing "bloody vendetta politics," Indo-Asian News Service reported.
A group of unidentified men attacked Joydeb Jana with sharp weapons, lathis and iron rods when he was on his way back home, Press Trust of India quoted Police Superintendent B Chandrasekhar as saying.
The 30-year-old political worker was rushed to a local hospital, where he was declared brought dead. His wife filed an FIR at Sabang police station against 22 people, including Congress leader Manas Bhunia.
The TMC Secretary General, Partha Chatterjee, said the party has demanded "immediate arrest" of Bhunia. "Our party worker Joydeb Jana was murdered in Sabang in West Midnapore following CPIM's Mohammed Salim and Surjya Kanta Mishra's call for vendetta politics and the combined threat from Congress and CPI-M," he said.
The party also issued a statement Saturday, accusing Bhunia of plotting the murder.
"Manas Bhuniya, the local Congress candidate, had lodged a complaint against Joydeb Jana a few days ago. Even as late as yesterday (Friday) he was conducting enquiries, following up and plotting the murder. All evidence points to the fact. We demand he be booked as an accused in the case," the party statement said.
"They confirm that the murder was done without any provocation. The Congress, CPI-M and the BJP know their campaign is having no impact on the ground. Hence they are resorting to bloody tactics of vendetta," it added.
The incident happened days ahead of the second part of the second phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal. West Midnapore will go to polls Monday.
