Burdwan, Feb. 22: A former CPM legislator was axed and bludgeoned to death in Burdwan this morning by alleged Trinamul Congress supporters in one of the most gruesome political murders in the state where battlelines have been drawn over the February 28 bandh.

Another CPM leader who tried to rescue former MLA Pradip Tah, 54, was also killed in the clash, the stage for which appears to have been set by a drive to mobilise support for the Left-backed general strike on Tuesday.

However, accounts from eyewitnesses and police sources suggest that the row over the strike only provided the spark.

Pradip Tah, an influential leader who had staved off the anti-Left wave in his pocketborough, appeared to have been singled out for the murderous attack. No other CPM activist was injured and Kamal Gayen, 65, former secretary of the CPM’s Burdwan Sadar zonal committee, was killed when he rushed to save Pradip Tah.

Chitralekha, Pradip Tah’s wife and a headmistress, told The Telegraph that an armed group led by Patit Paban Tah had reached her home at 9am and warned that she would become a widow soon. “They said that was the price I would have to pay for marrying a man like my husband,” she said.

Around 45 minutes later, the attackers picked out Pradip Tah from a procession, slashed at him with a tangi (axe), battered him with rods and then smashed his face with a boulder.

Among the four arrested later was the suspect named by Chitralekha: Patit Paban Tah. The other three are Chhoton Chakraborty, Bhupal Goswami and Surajit.

A police officer in Burdwan said the four were Trinamul supporters. But Swapan Debnath, the Trinamul president in Burdwan, denied that his party was involved in any way in the killings. “It was the villagers who carried out the attack on the CPM persons,” said Debnath.

At least one Trinamul minister also cited a “spontaneous” backlash triggered by “janarosh”. “This was a spontaneous protest against harmads. This was a pre-planned attack on the village. There was janarosh (people’s anger). Trinamul supporters have got nothing to do with the deaths,” minister Firad Hakim said.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in New Delhi, saw a CPM hand also. Replying to a question on how the former MLA was “butchered”, Mamata said: “No, he was not butchered. There are many cases pending against him. This is a result of the CPM’s internal feud. If you want to know more, ask the state government.”

Legal sources in Burdwan said Pradip Tah was an accused in the murder of a Congress MLA in 1981. Although Pradip Tah was arrested and lodged in jail, all accused were eventually acquitted because of lack of evidence. Other than this, the sources could not immediately recall any big case pending against the former MLA.

The former MLA, who had won the Burdwan North seat in 2006, had been a constant thorn in Trinamul’s side. Although Pradip Tah could not contest from the constituency last year as it was reserved for Scheduled Castes, he ensured that the CPM candidate won the seat in spite of the rapid advances made by Trinamul in what was once an impregnable red citadel.

If the Left had won 23 of the 26 Assembly seats in Burdwan in 2006, Trinamul bagged as many as 15 of the 25 (one seat less after delimitation) last year. CPM sources said an attempt was made on Pradip Tah’s life three months ago.

Around 7.45 this morning, CPM workers had put up party flags on houses, shops and lampposts in Dewandighi and the adjoining Mirzapur in support of the strike called by the trade unions on February 28.

The CPM workers allegedly removed a Trinamul flag and foisted a red flag on a cloth-cum-shoe store owned by a Trinamul supporter. The shop-owner, Bidyut Baran Hazra, said he protested.

District CPM secretary Amal Haldar denied that CPM workers had taken out any Trinamul flag while putting up party flags and posters in support of the February 28 strike.

An altercation followed and Hazra informed other Trinamul supporters in the locality. The row soon snowballed into a clash and Hazra and a CPM worker, Rupkumar Gupta, were injured. Both were admitted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital.

“Hazra received 10 stitches on his head while Gupta, who suffered internal haemorrhage, has been sent to SSKM Hospital in Calcutta,” said a doctor.

By then, Pradip Tah and other CPM workers, who were at the Burdwan zonal committee office in Dewandighi, had rushed to the hospital. After lodging an FIR with the police, Pradip Tah returned to the party office and it was decided to bring out a procession to protest the clash. Following the brawl in Mirzapur, a police party was posted in the area. However, they could not prevent what followed.

A little after 9.30am, Pradip Tah led the procession that had around 100 party workers, including women. Around 9.45am, nearly 40 Trinamul activists, armed with rods, sticks and axes divided in two groups and approached the procession from the front and behind.

“It appears that Pradip Tah was their target because no other CPM person has reported any grievous injury. Gayen was killed because, according to witnesses we spoke to, he tried to stop the attackers from killing Pradip Tah,” a senior police officer said.

Moloy Gupta, a farmer from a nearby village and on his way to a grocer, said: “I saw Pradip Tah lying on the ground shouting for help while two men were smashing his face with a boulder. I was terrified and ran for my life.

“The police could have easily prevented the killing of the two party leaders with the police headquarters so close by. The police are not working independently. They are being controlled by political leaders,” said Surjya Kanta Mishra, leader of the Opposition, who reached Burdwan town.

Asked about the alleged police inaction, the district superintendent of police, S.M.H. Meerza, said: “We are inquiring. We had sent reinforcements to Dewandighi but the incident had already taken place by then.”

The CPM has called a 12-hour bandh in Burdwan district tomorrow. Pradip Tah’s body was brought to Calcutta and kept in Peace Haven. Tomorrow, the body will be taken to the Assembly.