Three Trinamool leaders shot dead in West Bengal; 1 held, others absconding

One person has been arrested in connection with murder of three Trinamool Congress leaders in Canning town in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of the Baruipur District Police arrested Aftafuddin from his hideout late Friday night.

Though Aftafuddin was not among the six persons named in the FIR filed on Friday, he was one of the many suspects.

During investigation, Aftafuddin revealed that he informed the assailants about the moves of the Trinamool leaders who were going to attend a preparatory meeting on the forthcoming Trinamool Congress's annual Martyr's Day programme on July 21.

However, prime suspect in the case Rafiqul and others directly involved in the murder are still absconding.

"Aftafuddin was waiting at a place in between the route. As the victims reached near him, he started shadowing them and started informing the assailants about the movements of the victims," said an officer of Baruipur District Police on condition of anonymity.

Aftafuddin will be presented at a district court on Saturday and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody for further interrogation.

The police will also recreate the crime scene with his inputs.

According to eye-witnesses, four assailants on Thursday came on two motorcycles and blocked the path of the victims. First, they shot the leaders from close range and then attacked them with sharp-edged weapons.

The three killed were: a local Trinamool Congress panchayat member, Swapan Majhi and two local Trinamool Congress booth presidents, Bhutnath Pramanik and Jhantu Halder.

Rafiqul, a history-sheeter, reportedly had prior enmity with Swapan Majhi.

However, Rafiqul's family members told the police and media persons that the prime accused was an active ruling party worker.

--IANS

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