TMC man shot dead at Bengal roadside dhaba

A Trinamool Congress functionary was gunned down and another seriously wounded when a gang of eight to 10 fired gunshots at them while they were having dinner at a roadside dhaba in Islampur in Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district, about 510 km north of Kolkata. The murder of Bapi Ray, 36, sparked daylong sporadic protests and roadblocks, with party workers and locals demanding arrest of the assailants. Ray’s wife Lipi demanded a CBI probe into the attack. According to sources, business rivalry could be the murder motive. Ray was jailed before for his involvement in the illicit liquor trade. Police said an inter-state manhunt has been launched. Dhaba workers were interrogated and CCTV footage checked. Ray was eating along with a few other Trinamool workers when the gunmen arrived in a car. They shot Ray in his chest and throat multiple times from close range and went away. His friend Sajjad was also hit. Both of them were taken taken to a hospital, where Ray was declared dead.