Police on Friday arrested four persons, including Mainul Sheikh, a Trinamool gram panchayat member and a well-known land broker, the prime accused in the Thursday murder of party worker Abul Kalam Azad in Englishbazar.
Azad was hacked to death on Thursday night. The murder is suspected to have stemmed from rivalry in the local land trade.
Prime accused Sheikh was denied a Trinamool ticket in the 2023 panchayat polls. He won the Kazigram seat on a Congress ticket but switched to Trinamool again.
Three more named in the FIR lodged by the victim’s father, Md Ainul Hoque,
are absconding.
“Four accused, including the main conspirator, were apprehended within 24 hours of the crime. The rest three will be arrested soon,” a senior police officer said.
According to Hoque, Sheikh had repeatedly threatened Azad, who was doing well in the land broking business. Tensions reportedly escalated after Azad opened a new office at Laxmipur in Englishbazar, the area where Sheikh operated.
“After the murder, Sheikh did not flee. He stood nearby. When I confronted him, he coldly said my son had ignored his warnings and had to be eliminated,” Hoque said.