A Trinamul booth committee president in East Burdwan’s Mangalkot, Sanjit Ghosh, 38, was lynched and another party worker accompanying him badly beaten up allegedly by BJP workers on Tuesday evening.

Police have arrested eight BJP workers after family members of the slain Trinamul leader filed a written complaint against 26 persons.

“We have arrested eight persons named in the complaint. We have started a probe and raids are on to arrest the rest,” said Bhaskar Mukherjee, East Burdwan police chief.

Trinamul and police sources said a group of BJP supporters allegedly waylaid Sanjit, Trinamul’s No. 198 booth committee president, when he was riding home on his motorbike in Nigon village of Mangalkot on Tuesday evening. Trinamul worker Ibrahim Khan, who was injured in the attack, was riding pillion.

“BJP goons stopped Sanjit’s motorbike and started to beat him with iron rods and sticks. Ibrahim suffered injuries in the attack and fled to save his life. Sanjit was first taken to Katwa subdivisional hospital and shifted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital where he died,” said Apurba Chowdhury, Trinamul block president in Mangalkot

Trinamul leaders said the murder took place after BJP’s Soumitra Khan attended a political meeting in the village on Monday. “Khan instigated BJP supporters at the rally, prompting them to kill our party leader,” said a Trinamul leader.

Anubrata Mondal, Trinamul’s minder for Mangalkot, said those involved in Sanjit’s murder would not be spared.

“It (the crime) was the result of anger as very few people went to the BJP meeting of Khan. If BJP leaders think and take to violence, we will be more violent than them. I won’t allow any of the BJP workers to step out of their homes,” said Mondal.

BJP’s Katwa president Krishna Ghosh claimed Sanjit’s murder was the fallout of Trinamul’s infighting. “Trinamul’s internal feud led to the death of the person known for leading violent attacks on political opponents. Trinamul is accusing the BJP of the murder for political mileage ahead of the Assembly polls. We don’t believe in the politics of murder and violence (that) is an integral part of Trinamul’s politics,” said Ghosh.

Trinamul sources said that Sanjit had been involved in minor clashes with BJP workers since the past few months.

He had allegedly been earlier attacked twice in Nigon, a region that has emerged a BJP stronghold ever since the party made electoral gains in the region in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“Sanjit had earlier protested against a rally that the BJP had organised in support of farm bills and allegedly beat up a BJP worker. A couple of months ago Sanjit was also attacked by BJP workers,” said a Trinamul source.