TMC leader shot at, BJP MLA's son & his driver held: Police
A personal vehicle belonging to the Roys that was allegedly used in the crime was also seized by the Cooch Behar police. BJP MLA Roy, however, denied all the allegations and claimed that his son has been 'falsely framed' in this case.
'All these are baseless allegations. They (TMC) have no organisation in this constituency. They are now trying to frame BJP workers before the 2026 Assembly election,' claimed the MLA.
District Superintendent of Police Dyutiman Bhattacharya said, 'Two more persons are suspected to be involved in the incident. A search is on for them. A forensic team is examining the seized vehicle.'
According to the police, when Raju De was returning home from a meeting on Thursday evening, a black-coloured car approached him and the occupants opened fire. Local residents took De to a nearby nursing home, where he underwent surgery, police said. Doctors said his condition is now stable.
TMC Coochbehar district president Abhijit Det Bhowmik claimed, 'A few days ago, the BJP MLA (Sukumar Roy) visited Chakchaka area to interact with the people. Some local residents, under the leadership of Raju De, staged a protest in front of him. This seems like an act of revenge.'
In a post on X, the ruling TMC wrote, 'The 2024 Lok Sabha results from Bengal made it clear that @BJP4India was rapidly losing ground in Cooch Behar. Now that the district has slipped from their iron-fisted grasp, they've returned to what they do best: unleashing BRUTE, MINDLESS VIOLENCE. Our Panchayat Samiti worker from Cooch Behar II was shot in cold blood. CCTV footage confirms the involvement of @BJP4Bengal MLA Sukumar Roy's son, flanked by their usual gang of armed goons. When you can't win people's trust, can't secure a mandate, can't fight a clean election, you shoot your way through…'
The BJP, however, denied all the allegations.
Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal.
Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur.
He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
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