Malda, June 1: An aide to minister and Englishbazar civic chief Krishnendu Chowdhury was shot thrice in Puratoli area here last night .
Police said Uday Shankar Das, 50, the secretary of Trinamul’s ward 12 committee, was shot in the stomach and left bleeding along the Malda-Balurghat state highway.
Das, a technical officer at the diesel shed of the Eastern Railways’ Malda division, underwent a surgery at a private nursing home last night.
Doctors said he is under ventilation.
“Uday Shankar is one of the most active leaders of our party in Englishbazar. Who has carried out the attempt to murder him is not clear to us. I have asked the police to get to the bottom of the incident as soon as possible,”
Krishnendu, who rushed to visit Das at the nursing home along with his wife Kakoli said.
According to sources in Englishbazar police station, around 10pm yesterday when Das was sitting at a Trinamul party office at Puratoli, in ward 12 of Englishbazar municipality, he got a call on his mobilephone.
“As soon as he received the call, Das left the party office on his motorcycle. Around 10.30pm, local people found him bleeding next to the Malda-Balurghat state highway near Bulbulchandi More, 2km from the Puratoli party office.
The area is near Sahapur bridge over the Mahananda river.
We were informed and he was admitted to a nursing home around 10.45pm,” a police source said.
The source added that Das narrated the incident to the police and the local people before he was taken to the nursing home.
After speaking to the caller, Das left the party office and went towards Sahapur bridge.
“According to Das, as soon as he reached Setu More on the Englishbazar side of the bridge, a red car came from the opposite direction and stopped his motorcycle. He could not say how many people were in the car. He said he was shot twice in the stomach. When local people started coming out hearing gunshots, the attackers dragged Das into their car. Das said that he was shot in the stomach once more and thrown out of the moving vehicle,” the source said.
Last night, Malda police chief Prasun Banerjee and additional police superintendent Abhishek Modi visited Das at the nursing home.
Trinamul sources said Das was a key figure in ensuring both Krishnendu and Kakoli’s victory in the elections.
“Uday Shankar was the main figure behind Kakoli Chowdhury’s election as the councillor from ward 12 for three consecutive terms from 2005. This time, Trinamul candidate Prasanjit Das won from that ward. Uday Shankar had a key role to play in that too. Kakoli did not contest from the ward this time as it had been reserved for SC candidates. She contested from ward 8 and won. Uday Shankar had also worked hard for Krishnendu’s election as the MLA,” a Trinamul source said.
“He used to help our councillor Kakoli Chowdhury in discharging her civic duties. He worked at the diesel shed in the railways,” said the source.
Malda police chief Banerjee said efforts were on to identify the attackers.
“Englishbazar police has been entrusted with the investigation and all efforts are on to determine the identity of the attackers. As soon as the victim is declared out of danger, we will get to know more about the incident from him. We are going through the call list of Uday Shankar Das’s mobile phone,” Banerjee said.
No FIR has been lodged yet.
Manabesh Pramanik, a surgeon and proprietor of the nursing home where the injured leader is admitted, said the injuries were serious.
“There were three bullet injuries in his stomach. One bullet went through while two others were removed surgically. Das has been given blood as he lost a lot of blood because of the injuries. He is in a serious condition,” he said.
