West Bengal: TMC denies murdering BJP youth leader Mithun Ghosh; 'Allegation is baseless'

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday denied the allegations leveled against the party regarding the murder of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing leader in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district.

The BJP claimed that the party's Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Vice-President of Uttar Dinajpur, Mithun Ghosh, was allegedly shot dead by the TMC attackers at Itahar. 

The BJP state unit President Suvendu Adhikari, taking to his official Twitter handle, had said that Ghosh was "gunned down by unidentified assailants in Itahar of West Bengal's North Dinajpur district.

The BJP youth leader was shot dead by two motorcycle-born assailants at 11 PM on Sunday when he was standing in front of his house in Rajgram village in North Dinajpur district. The youth leader suffered injuries in his abdomen and was immediately taken to the Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

TMC denies murder charges 

Refuting the allegations of the BJP MLA from Nandigram, TMC state General Secretary and Party Spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said,

"Why will TMC murder him (BJYM VP Mithun Ghosh)? We do not know what happened exactly but the police are investigating the matter. Suvendu Adkhikari's allegation is baseless. BJP has inner clashes among themselves. Leveling allegation on TMC for the killing, BJP is trying to avoid their own internal issues."

On a similar note, TMC MLA Mosharraf Hossain claimed that his party has nothing to do with the murder of the BJP youth leader.

"Miscreants fired the shot in the dark at night as there may be a sectarian conflict. The police should investigate the matter. TMC does not believe in the politics of murder," Hossain said.

Police remained tight-lipped even after being informed of threat calls, says BJP district President

BJP North Dinajpur President Basudeb Sarkar alleged that Ghosh was being threatened via phone by members of a particular political outfit. He further added that the police and administration remained tight-lipped despite the BJP verbally informing them regarding the threats. Sarkar also claimed the involvement of TMC goons in the killing and said that the Uttar Dinajpur BJP will lodge an FIR. 

West Bengal holds a long history of political violence and killing. Following the TMC's win in the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections, post-poll violence and political killings have seen new heights across the state.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the orders of the Calcutta High Court, has been given the responsibility to investigate post-poll violence cases in the state. A Special Investigating Team has also been formed to probe the cases.

Inputs: ANI

Image: ANI