Deepa Das Munshi (right) at the Raiganj police station. Picture by Mehedi Hedaytullah

Islampur, Dec. 20: A 25-year-old Congress worker was shot dead and two others were injured allegedly by a CPM-backed gang, prompting police to fire 10 rounds in the air to disperse a mob that attacked the law keepers when they arrived.

Omar Ehsan, who was killed, was the brother of Congress leader Omar Farooq. Mohammad Sameer, 24, and Mohammad Abbas, 27, have been admitted to Islampur Subdivisional Hospital.

After the incident at Moulani village, 30km from here, hundreds of Congress supporters blocked NH31 and gheraoed Islampur police station from 11am to 1pm, demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits. Later they sat on a dharna in front of the police station. The Congress MP from Raiganj, Deepa Das Munshi ,visited the police station. She also met the two injured persons at the hospital and Ehsan’s relatives in town.

Islampur block Congress president Rehan Alam said about 200 hooligans led by local CPM leader Yousuf Ali arrived in Moulani in cars and motorcycles and made their way to Ehsan’s house around 9am. “Ehsan stepped out on hearing the commotion and was shot immediately. When two of our members rushed to his rescue, they, too, were shot at,” he said. At the hospital, Ehsan was pronounced dead.

Deepa said the CPM was desperate to regain control over what was once its stronghold. “They did badly in the last panchayat polls and from then on have been attacking our workers,” she said.

The additional superintendent of police of North Dinajpur, James Kujur, who visited the village, faced angry demonstrators who pelted the policemen and their vehicles with stones. “The police fired 10 rounds to disperse the crowd,” he said.

The CPM’s district secretary, Swapan Guha, denied his party’s role in the killing. “The violence was over the snatching of a motorcycle in the area,” he said.