Krishnanagar: Congress leader Anisur Rahman and his son Abu Sufian (24), were first shot at and then hacked to death by unidentified miscreants near the Bethuadahari railway crossing in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Saturday evening.
Rahman was a member of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) and general secretary of the Nadia District Congress Committee. Family members said that Rahman’s son was studying law and planned to go to London for further studies.
The attack took place barely 200 metres from the victims’ residence while they were in a car, as reported by The Indian Express.
Officials said that the car in which the duo was travelling has been riddled with bullets. The bonnet was damaged, the windscreen had bullet marks, and the car windows were smashed.
The bodies have been shifted to the local Nakashipara hospital for post-mortem examination.
“He (Rahman) was a long-time Congress leader who worked for the people. He must have been a victim of political enmity, but his son had nothing to do with politics. We want justice,” a relative said.
The police have arrested Fatema Bibi, the head of the Harnagar Gram Panchayat, and another Trinamool worker in this case. The arrests were made after Rahman’s family members alleged that Fatema was linked to the murders.
CCTV footage from the area is also being scanned to track down the assailants.
“The SP informed me that Jabbar Shiekh, who is in jail, is responsible for the murder. Already, his wife, who is a TMC pradhan, has been arrested,” West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Sunday.
State panchayat minister, Dilip Ghosh said: “Such killings used to happen previously. It will not be tolerated any longer. The police are investigating the matter.”
“We condemn the killings; the police should investigate the matter. The blame is now being given that a TMC leader is involved; now we have to see whether that person belongs to the good TMC because then the blame cannot be put on us,” Trinamool Congress MLA and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told reporters.
“We demand a proper and impartial investigation and exemplary punishment of the guilty at the earliest,” senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
