West Bengal: One killed, two injured as TMC workers clash in Durgapur

A Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was killed in a violent clash on Wednesday night in Durgapur's Andal in West Bengal. Besides the leader, two other TMC workers were injured in the violent clash. TMC leader Dharamvir Nonia died on the spot in the firing, which is alleged by the BJP as a clash between the two factions of TMC, whereas two Party workers were "seriously injured".

"At around 10:30 pm I heard a shout and noise of bullet firing from outside. I rushed to see a confrontation between the two groups. Several bullets were fired between the two sides and Dharamvir Nonia was shot in the chaos. His younger brother was yelling and crying," Bishun Dev Nonia, TMC leader, told ANI.

"Two people were seriously injured. One of them was hit by an iron rod. The administration should take strict action against this violent clash," Nonia added.

A relative of the late Dharamvir Nonia said that he had been receiving death threats for 4-5 days and he advised Nonia to stay indoors.

"Dharamvir Nonia was receiving death threats for 4-5 days. I requested him to stay indoors since these people are very dangerous. During the confrontation yesterday, the firing started off suddenly and he was shot," Satyanarayan Nonia, a relative of the late Dharamvir Nonia, said.

A local TMC leader ruled out any political angle in the incident but BJP has claimed that the incident was a fallout of a factional feud over sharing of spoils in the coal belt. There has been a surge in the incidents of political violence in the state which is to go to polls in next five to six months. The BJP has slammed the ruling party, alleging that the deaths of its leaders and workers are being orchestrated by TMC.

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Attacks on BJP leaders

Bengal BJP President and MP Dilip Ghosh's convoy was attacked on Thursday by miscreants in Alipuarduar. However, he was not injured. The vehicle of another BJP leader was directly under brick pelting but he too is said to be stable. 

A BJP worker was found dead on Wednesday night in a forested area in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, triggering tension in the locality, as the saffron party alleged that he was murdered by TMC "goons". The state's ruling party, however, brushed aside the allegations as "baseless and bereft of truth".

Expressing outrage, the BJP unit of West Bengal took to Twitter and stated, "Gokul Jana, BJP’s booth worker from Kanthi Bhagabanpur assembly, was brutally murdered by TMC goons. His crime? He requested the husband of a TMC panchayat member affected by Corona to stay in quarantine! Is this how democracy suppose to survive under Mamata’s TMC in Bengal?"

BJP leader Sayantan Basu also claimed that Jana was a victim of political rivalry, and accused the local police of trying to shield the assailants by hushing up the matter.

"Hundreds of our workers have been killed by the TMC in West Bengal and the police are not taking any action. The ruling party doesn't believe in democracy," Basu stated.

Senior BJP leader and MLA Debendra Nath Roy was also found hanging in July this year. His death had sent shockwaves across the BJP with party leaders alleging that it is not a suicide but a political killing. Roy had contested and won the Hemtabad assembly segment - a reserved seat for Scheduled Castes -- on a CPI(M) ticket but had switched over to the BJP last year after the Lok Sabha polls. The family of the MLA claimed that he has been killed and hanged later.

(With inputs from Agencies, Image credit: PTI)

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