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Trinamool worker hacked to death in Malda, with motive of murder being attributed to old rivalry

Police in Malda say Abul Kalam Azad, 34, a land broker, was returning home with his wife and two other friends after a birthday party when a group of seven people attacked them

Representational image File picture

Soumya De Sarkar
Published 12.07.25, 09:57 AM

A Trinamool Congress worker was hacked to death in Malda district on Thursday night, with the motive of the murder being attributed to an old rivalry over land deals.

At Bhangar near Calcutta, Rajjak Khan, a Trinamool supporter in his late 30s, was also shot and hacked to death on Thursday night.

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Police in Malda said Abul Kalam Azad, 34, a land broker, was returning home with his wife and two other friends after a birthday party when a group of seven people attacked them.

Azad was a resident of Kalitala village in Gopalpur panchayat under the jurisdiction of Manikchak police station. He and his wife Shiuli Khatun had attended the birthday party at the residence of Jalaluddin Momin, one of his close acquaintances, at
Laxmipur-Matikatapara.

The group of seven people was reportedly led by Mainul Sheikh, an elected member of Kazigram panchayat. Shiuli, and Atimul Momin and Dilbar Momin, who were accompanying the couple, are under treatment at Malda Medical College and Hospital.

Ainul Haque, Azad’s father, named Mainul in the complaint he lodged at the Englishbazar police station.

“Mainul and his henchmen hacked Azad, his wife and two others. We want the police to take action,” Ainul said.

Although Azad did not hold any organisational post, he was an influential Trinamool activist and close to block-level leaders of the ruling party, sources said.

During the preliminary investigation, the police have found that the murder was a fallout of an old rivalry over land-related issues.

“In 2023, Mainul had won the panchayat elections as a Congress candidate and later defected to Trinamool. At that time, a section of Trinamool leaders had expressed disgruntlement over his inclusion into the party,” said a Trinamool functionary.

Prativa Singh, the Malda district president of Mahila Trinamool, said on Friday that she had vehemently opposed the induction
of Mainul.

Abdur Rahim Boxi, the Malda district Trinamool president, said: “He (Mainul) was inducted into the party along with a few others based on their applications. But Trinamool would not shield any criminal activities, and the law would take its course.”

Pradeep Kumar Yadav, the superintendent of police of Malda, said Mainul had been apprehended while raids were on to round up his associates.

Blame on ISF

Saokat Molla, the Trinamool MLA of Canning East and the party’s observer for the Bhangar Assembly seat, has accused the ISF of killing Rajjak Khan.

“Rajjak was a very popular leader in the area. ISF criminals have killed him,” the MLA said. “An attempt had been made on his life a year ago, but this time, the assailants succeeded. I have urged police to find out the conspirators,” Molla added.

ISF chairman and Bhangar MLA Nawshad Siddique said the murder was a fallout of infighting in Trinamool. “There was a dispute over sharing cut money, which led to clashes between Trinamool groups,” said the MLA.

He claimed that Rajjak was a close aide to Arabul Islam but was brought into Saokat Molla’s camp under threat.

“If such a killing can take place in Bhangar even after the area has been brought under strict surveillance by Kolkata Police, the administration should be ashamed of its failure,” Siddique added.

Additional reporting by Subhasish Chaudhuri in Calcutta

Murder Trinamul Congress (TMC)
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