Widespread violence over the filing of nominations for the July 8 three-tier panchayat polls has left at least six people dead.
A TRINAMOOL Congress (TMC) candidate for the panchayat election was allegedly beaten to death in Sujapur gram panchayat of Kaliachowk block in Malda district on Saturday, police said.
The victim, Mostafa Sheikh, was returning home when he was beaten up by a group of men, leading to his death, they added. Sheikh’s family and the TMC have alleged that the men who attacked him were Congress supporters, who had switched from the TMC a week ago. The Congress has denied the allegations.
The single phase panchayat elections will be held on July 8 with the counting of votes on July 11. Sheikh was a former gram panchayat pradhan.
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“Preliminary investigation has revealed that there was a clash between TMC and the Congress workers over putting up their parties’ flags in Sujapur area. Suddenly, some youths came to the spot and started beating Sheikh with iron rods and bamboo sticks,” said a police officer.
State minister and TMC MLA from Mothabari seat in Malda Sabina Yasmin said, “The Congress murdered Sheikh in a planned manner. Those who killed him were in our party earlier. They joined the Congress just a week ago. As soon as they knew that they would not be getting TMC tickets because of corruption charges against them, they switched to the Congress.”
A group of Sheikh’s supporters blocked a portion of National Highway 34 at Kaliachowk in protest. However, they called off the stir after half an hour.
Malda, a minority-dominated district, is considered a stronghold of the Congress. Widespread violence left six people dead and several injured.
First published on: 17-06-2023 at 20:53 IST
