The trio was on a motorcycle when the unidentified assailants stopped them near Peer Park and pumped bullets into them around 9 am.
Kolkata: Three members of the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal were killed by unknown miscreants at Canning in the South 24 Parganas district on Thursday morning. The murder took place when they were passing through a crowded road, the police said.
The trio was on a motorcycle when the unidentified assailants stopped them near Peer Park and pumped bullets into them around 9 am, a senior police officer said.
The deceased were identified as local panchayat member Swapan Majhi and two of his associates — Bhootnath Pramanik and Jhantu Majhi — the police said. According to the officer, the miscreants may have shot Swapan first and then the two others.
“The killers, before escaping, stabbed the three with sharp weapons too to ensure that they are dead,” the senior police officer said. A huge team of policemen has been deployed in the area which has caused panic among the locals, the officer added.
TMC MLA of Canning West Paresh Ram Das said the assailants first shot the victims dead and then tried to behead the bodies.
Three bullet shells, one live bomb and a motorcycle have been recovered, the police said. “Bodies of the deceased have been sent for post mortem. Initial inquiry suggests that the crime was the fallout of personal enmity,” the police added.
The personal enmity angle is also being claimed by BJP but vehemently being protested by the TMC. “Majhi came to me on Tuesday night and said he could be murdered. I had asked him to come on Thursday so that we could arrange some security,” said Das.
TMC has also blamed the BJP for the crime. However, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said, “Even a child won’t believe in this theory as Canning and other adjoining areas are the haven of TMC’s goons. It is probably the fallout of TMC’s internal fight.”
