Tension gripped Sagar Island of South 24-Parganas on Wednesday morning, after BJP leader Trilokesh Dhali, 61, was shot at by unidentified assailants when he was on his way home on a motorcycle following prayers at a temple.
The attack, in the run-up to the Assembly polls, occurred around 8am on the road between the Shridham and Gangasagar bus stands under Ganganagar coastal police station limits.
BJP sources said Dhali, who had earlier served as secretary of the BJP Mathurapur organisational unit, was being considered as a BJP candidate from the Sagar Assembly seat. The incident triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress of orchestrating the attack to intimidate the Opposition ahead of the polls.
The police started a probe based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s son Tridip Dhali. Police sources said two bike-borne assailants intercepted Dhali and fired two rounds at him before fleeing. One of the bullets hit him in the upper chest. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, and after preliminary treatment, shifted to a private hospital in Joka in Calcutta for advanced care.
BJP state unit chief Samik Bhattacharya condemned the the attack, describing it as reflective of Bengal's prevailing political climate.
“There is no rule of law in Bengal. In recent years, BJP leaders and workers from the SC and ST communities have been killed,” he claimed. The injured Dhali belongs to the SC community.
“Trilokesh Dhali is critical,” said the BJP's Jagannath Chattopadhyay. “We will bring this case to the notice of the Election Commission. Action should be taken against the officer-in-charge of the police station for his failure to control crime. Unless the EC intervenes, the state police will continue to play a partisan role.”
The BJP’s Sundarbans organising district leader Palash Rana also criticised the police.
“The attack proves how criminals are ruling the island, and even after 12 hours of the incident the police apparently remain clueless. If the assailants are not arrested soon, the BJP will launch a big movement,” Rana said.
Tridip claimed his father was targeted by goons "backed by the ruling party". “My father’s name is being considered for nomination from the Sagar seat. So Trinamool planned to eliminate him,” Tridib alleged.
Trinamool spokesperson Tanmay Ghosh said it was unjust to blame the ruling party for every incident merely because elections were approaching.
Trinamool's Mathurapur MP Bapi Halder dismissed the BJP’s charges, suggesting that the attack could be linked to the BJP's infighting.
“We have told the police to conduct a proper inquiry, identify the assailants and arrest them. I am sure it would ultimately turn out to be a fallout of BJP’s internal rivalry,” Halder said.
Police officers said all possible angles were being examined. “A probe has begun and we are looking into every aspect, including the possibility of personal rivalry,” said a cop.
The attack comes a day after chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the Election Commission issued strict instructions to the civil and police administration to maintain law and order in Bengal. The Union home ministry has already deployed around 480 companies of central forces in the state even though Assembly poll dates are yet to be announced.