Diamond Harbour: TMC ‘supporter’ killed, mob lynches one of the attackers

Sources said Beg was formerly with the youth wing of the Trinamool Congress and was known locally as a supporter of the ruling party.

The BJP attributed the twin killings to factionalism in the ruling party. However, the ruling Trinamool Congress dismissed the claim as ‘baseless’.

There was heavy police deployment in the area in the wake of the twin murders. Additional Superintendent of Police, Diamond Harbour, Palash Dhali, SDPO Mitun Dey and IC Gautam Mitra rushed to the spot after word of the killings got out.

Prima facie, the police suspect that the killing of Beg was a result of personal enmity.

“Primarily, land dispute seems to be the motive for the killing. An investigation is underway and one person has been arrested,” a senior police officer told this newspaper.

The two dead bodies were sent for post-mortem examination.

Both the victim and accused were residents of Mallikpara in the Chandnagar area of Diamond Harbour. Police said their families were embroiled in a long running dispute over land.

According to police sources, Beg arrived at the vegetable market on his motorbike. As soon as he got off his two-wheeler, four unidentified persons surrounded him and one of them took out a sharp weapon and stabbed him to death, the sources said, adding that Beg slumped on the road and lay in a pool of blood.

Some locals chased the attackers and caught two of them, sources said, adding that they were beaten up before the police rescued them and rushed the duo to the Diamond Harbour hospital.

However, one of them was declared dead on arrival.