The right palm of a BJP activist was lopped off by a group of miscreants with suspected Trinamul links in the Shimurali area of Nadia’s Chakdah on Saturday night.
Victim Ratan Burman, 38, a resident of BT College Para, is a booth committee president of the BJP. The bizarre incident occurred near his home when he was returning around 11pm.
Police and local sources said Burman, a fish trader, suffered multiple injuries to his head and eyes as the miscreants attacked him with a sharp weapon before chopping off his right hand wrist upwards. Local residents found him lying in a pool of blood and rushed him to JNM Hospital in Kalyani.
Hospital sources said his condition was quite critical and was unconscious. Sources added the victim’s hand could not be found.
Nadia BJP leadership on Sunday alleged Trinamul hand behind the attack.
The police began a probe on the basis of a complaint by the victim’s wife and prima facie indicated “nonpolitical” reasons behind the attack. Angry BJP supporters blocked Shimurali station road demanding the arrest of the culprit for an hour on Sunday morning.
Smriti Burman, wife of the victim, said, “My husband is an active BJP activist and heads a booth in the area. But, it is not yet clear who attacked him. Before he became unconscious he told me that miscreants attacked him from behind when he was entering our gate. Miscreants injured him in the eyes with their fingers and then dragged him a little way away where they attacked him with sharp weapons and chopped off his right hand. I am not sure whether he was attacked for political reasons.”
Pankaj Ghosh, vice president of BJP’s Nadia south organizing committee, however, claimed Trinamul’s role in the attack.
“The ruling party has engaged its loyal miscreants to unleash fear among our party activists as part of its strategy to weaken our organisation. Ratan is an active worker of our party and earned the wrath of the local Trinamul leadership.”
Trinamul’s Nadia zilla parishad member, Tibrajyoti Das, rejected allegations of his party’s involvement in the incident. “We don’t believe in such heinous acts for settling political differences. We fight politically, but the BJP blames us for reaping political benefit out of such a bizarre incident.”
“We have begun a probe and are examining all possible angles. Preliminary investigations indicate the victim had personal enmity with the assailants. However, nothing can be conclusively said until his health improves and we are able to question him,” an investigating officer of Chakdah police said.
