KOLKATA: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manish Shukla was shot dead by unidentified miscreants on Sunday (October 5) night near Titagarh in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. The incident took place on BT Road, barely few metres away from the local police station. Police sources said Shukla was shot multiple times in the back and upper torso. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead by doctors.
According to eyewitnesses, the assailants came on motorcycles and their faces were covered with masks and helmets. Two other BJP workers also sustained bullet injuries during the attack as they tried to save Shukla. The West Bengal unit of BJP has organised a dawn-to-dusk shutdown in Barrackpore area on Monday (Oct 5) in protest against the murder. A central team of the BJP, comprising general secretary Sanjay Singh, MPs Arjun Singh, Saumitra Khan, Jagannath Sarkar and Shanku Deb Panda visited Shukla's residence, sources said.
State Governor Jagdeep Dhankar has summoned CM Mamata Banerjee and state police over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. "ACS Home @MamataOfficial and DGP @WBPolice have been summoned in the wake of worsening law and order situation leading to dastardly killing of Manish Shukla," the Governor tweeted on Sunday.
"We demand a CBI probe into the role of the police. Arjun Singh's life is also in danger. Mamata Banerjee cannot rule the state with terror," BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said. A popular public figure in Barrackpore, Shukla had defected from the Trinamool Congress two years ago. He was known to be a close associate with Barrackpore BJP MP Arjun Singh and had later joined the saffron brigade in the district.
CID takes over probe
The West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took over the investigation of the murder case of Shukla on Monday. A team of CID officers reached the spot in the afternoon to collect evidence and conduct further investigation into the case. The West Bengal Police took to Twitter urging people not to jump on to a conclusion without the investigation. “A person was shot dead in the Titagarh area of Barrackpore and the investigation is under way. Police will look into all possible reasons, including personal enmity because the victim was accused in some cases of murder and attempt of murder. Please do not jump to the conclusion without proper investigation. Irresponsible comments on social media tantamount to interference in the investigation. Please refrain from this,” read the statement from West Bengal Police.
