Kolkata: A young Trinamul Congress councillor was shot dead by a gang of miscreants over an old family feud at Kulti in Asansol of Burdwan West on Saturday night. Mohammed Khalid Khan, the victim, was the councillor of the ward No 66 of the Asansol Municipal Corporation. One of the accused was arrested by the police later. He is a relative of the victim and is a Trinamul leader also.
At around 11 pm, he had stepped out of his home for a walk which was his routine, said his brother Armaan Khan. Three youths came on a motorcycle and opened fire on him. Khalid fell on the ground after bullets hit his legs, Arman who is the witness narrated. The gang then pumped bullets into him from point-blank range, according to preliminary investigation. Khalid suffered bullet injuries on throat.
He died at the spot. Khalid was declared brought dead at Asansol District Hospital. After the murder, the motorcycle-borne gang sped away towards Barakar. The body was sent for post-mortem. Arman added that he knew his brother's assailants. He identified them as Tinku Sheikh, Kadir Sheikh and Shahid Sheikh. Kadir is a Trinamul Youth Congress leader in the area. He is also the cousin of the victim.
Tinku and Shahid are also associated with the ruling party. Arman alleged, “My brother was attacked earlier also. Four years ago my father's hand was chopped off. The case is still under way.” Asansol mayor Jitendra Tiwari visited the hospital also. He said, “Khalid's family members said they saw his killers. The police is now investigating the case."
On Sunday morning, angry local residents blocked Barakar-Kalyaneshwari Road demanding the arrest of the culprits. They set tyres on fire in protest. Trinamul MLA of Kulti Ujjwal Chatterjee said, “The locals demand the arrest of the accused in the brutal murder. No one should be spared.” The police initiated a case on murder charge. Tinku was arrested in the afternoon.
Trinamul secretary general Partha Chatterjee said, "It is a very sad incident. The administration will definitely take strong action against the accused." The police has found that the enmity between the accused and Khalid grew after Khalid got a ticket from the Trinamul and was elected as a councillor in 2015. Since then tussle has been regular between their families over gaining political influence in the area.
State consumer affairs minister Sadhan Pande however blamed the BJP. However, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh claimed that the killing was the outcome of internal feud of the ruling party.
