A Trinamool Congress worker was murdered in Cooch Behar’s Mathabhanga subdivision late on Thursday night, an attack that left his village in shock and stirred the local political circle.

Police arrested two men within hours after reviewing CCTV footage from the area.

Sanjay Barman, the 40-year-old victim from Jorpatki village in Mathabhanga 1 block, was returning home after work when he was caught in an argument between two masons near the Jorpatki gram panchayat office around 11pm.

“Residents described him as a quiet man who often stepped in to diffuse quarrels. On Thursday, too, he tried to calm the fight. But the confrontation turned deadly,” said an eyewitness.

Sources said that Ajay Barman, one of the masons, picked up a shovel and struck Sanjay repeatedly on the head.

“He collapsed instantly, bleeding heavily on the road. A civic volunteer who was on duty nearby rushed to inform Mathabhanga police. Officers first thought it was a road accident, but later footage from a CCTV camera installed in the area revealed the truth. By early morning, police had picked up Ajay and his associate Montu Barman, both residents of nearby Kharija Kuar Dera,” said sources.

Sanjay was taken to a hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival. His body was sent for a post-mortem and handed over to his family on Friday morning.

Dyutiman Bhattacharya, the superintendent of police of the district, said: “At first, we believed it was an accident, but the CCTV footage confirmed it was a murder. Two persons have been arrested and the investigation is on.”

The killing has cast a pall of grief over Jorpatki. Villagers gathered outside Sanjay’s house through Friday, many refusing to believe that the humble Trinamool worker could be targeted in such a brutal way.

“There were apprehensions in political circles that the killing would further escalate tensions in an already volatile region,” said a source.

As the body was brought home from the morgue, Sanjay’s relatives broke down, demanding justice and swift punishment for
those responsible.

Local Trinamool leaders described the death as “a loss not just for the family but for the party’s grassroots”.