Bengal Congress leader killed in bomb attack, party stages protest

A local Congress leader was killed in West Bengal’s Malda district after gunshots were fired and crude bombs were hurled at him on Sunday morning, the police said.
The leader, identified as Mohammad Saifuddin, was attacked with bombs while on his way to the market from his home in Dharampur, a village under the Gopalpur Panchayat in the jurisdiction of the Manikchak police station.
Saifuddin was an influential Congress leader of the Gopalpur area.
The incident happened at the Dharampur Stand market around 9 am. According to Saifuddin’s family, four-five men with their faces covered opened fire and hurled two crude bombs targetting him.
He died on the spot, they said.
Meanwhile, the Congress party and the victim’s family have alleged that Nasir, a local leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), orchestrated the attack, a claim denied by the state’s ruling party.
In response to the killing, enraged Congress workers took to the streets, blocking the Manikchak State Highway by burning tyres, demanding swift action and the arrest of the accused.
Police said they have started an investigation into the case. Efforts were being made to identify those behind the attack, they added.