Kolkata: Two people died, and five grievously injured when a gang of four unidentified gunmen opened fire at a Trinamool Congress party office in Kharagpur in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
The deceased are identified as Srinivas Naidu, 27, husband of TMC Councillor Puja Naidu. He suffered bullet injuries in his stomach and head and his associate V. Dharma, 25. They both were rushed to Kolkata’s SSKM hospital, they later succumbed to their injuries.The others, who were injured, were being treated in a West Midnapur hospital.
Pooja who sustained minor injuries is a councilor of ward 18 of Kharagpur civic body, she has won the civic polls in 2015 on a BJP ticket but later switched to the ruling party of the state.
The criminals stormed the party office around 1 pm on Wednesday and hurled a crude bomb outside the party office. They then ran in and opened fire.
West Midnapore police super Bharati Ghosh said. “We are trying to find out who were behind the act and why did they commit the crime.”
The police of Kharagpur Town Police Station have rushed to the spot and begun investigation. Raids are being conducted at various places.
One of the CPI(M) leader said, “Srinivas is known for his link with mafias in the Kharagpur areas.” He was named in a few police complaints in Kharagpur. Sources also said that a few weeks earlier, there was an attempt on Naidu’s life where he was shot at but escaped unhurt.