West Bengal: Security stepped up in Nandigram after killing of BJP worker
The party launched protests after the death, following which the Rapid Action Force and central forces were deployed in the area.
Security was stepped up in West Bengal’s Nandigram town on Thursday after a woman Bharatiya Janata Party worker was killed and seven others were injured in an attack on Wednesday night, reported The Indian Express.
The woman, Rathibala Arhi, was killed by unidentified miscreants on Wednesday night. Arhi’s son, a local BJP leader, sustained grievous injuries.
After the attack, BJP workers launched protests in Nandigram. To prevent further violence, the Rapid Action Force and central forces were deployed in the area.
The violence occurred two days before the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the state. Voting will take place in the constituency on May 25.
Nandigram is part of the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency. The BJP has fielded former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay from the seat against Trinamool Congress Debangshu Bhattacharya.
The police have arrested one person in connection with the killing of the BJP worker, reported The Indian Express. The Election Commission has also sought a report from the authorities.
The Trinamool leadership claimed that the death was the result of a factional feud between old and new BJP workers. The Trinamool Congress leader Santanu Sen alleged that it was a planned attack, reported The Indian Express. He added that the BJP is blaming his party to malign the Trinamool Congress.
Arhi’s family claimed that it was a political murder.
“Our brother-in-law was in Trinamool but later shifted to BJP,” the daughter-in-law of the deceased told The Hindu. “The Trinamool people were angry as to why he was working for BJP.”
West Bengal Leader of Opposition and Nandigram BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari blamed the Trinamool Congress for the death of the party worker. He alleged that the violence occurred after incitement by Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who addressed a rally in the area on Wednesday.
“The bloodshed was a direct fallout of Bhaipo’s [nephew] provocation in Nandigram yesterday [May 22],” he said. “The barbaric murder was orchestrated by the Trinamool after realising its certain defeat. The hands of the jihadis do not tremble before hacking a woman to death.”