Daylight shooting in a crowded weekly market at Dodairhat in Cooch Behar on Saturday left the son of a Trinamool panchayat chief dead and another man injured.

The shooting took place around 3.30pm when assailants on two motorcycles rode up to the busy market and opened indiscriminate fire.

The victim, Amar Roy, 36, was a resident of Dawaguri village under Kotwali police station in Cooch Behar- I block. His mother, Kuntala Roy, is the Trinamool pradhan of Dawaguri gram panchayat, said sources.

“Amar leaves behind his wife and a daughter in a Class VI. He had driven to Dodairhat with his friend Alamgir in a car to shop in the weekly market which draws large crowds from nearby villages. He bought mutton and other items before the assailants struck,”
said sources.

Eyewitnesses said shooters fired multiple rounds at close range. “A bullet struck Amar in the head, killing him instantly in the middle of the market. Alamgir sustained a gunshot wound to his leg and was rushed to hospital. His condition is critical,” said eyewitnesses.

Dodairhat, some 8km from Cooch Behar town and known for its popular mutton stalls, is usually considered safe despite its bustling atmosphere. The Dodairhat market operates twice a week, on Saturdays and Tuesdays.

Dyutiman Bhattacharya, the Cooch Behar district superintendent of police along with senior officers, reached the spot soon after receiving information. “Several criminals on two motorcycles came to the market and opened fire. One person has died and one is injured. Probe is on,” Bhattacharya said.

Local sources said it was total chaos as people scrambled for cover during the shooting. “Vendors abandoned their stalls, and customers ran helter-skelter to escape gunfire. The area hasn’t seen such an incident before,” said a source.

Subrata Acharjee, a resident and member of the Cooch Behar II panchayat samiti, said traders saw the assailants speed away after the shooting.

“The criminals fled on their bikes immediately after firing. They seemed to know the escape routes well,” he said.

Police have begun questioning traders and shoppers. Roadblocks have been set up in nearby areas in an attempt to intercept the attackers.

However, no arrests had been reported till late Saturday evening.

Girindranath Barman, the chairman of Trinamool’s Cooch Behar district committee, alleged this attack had been carried out by BJP’s hired goons.

“Only last month, one of our panchayat samiti members, Raju Dey, was shot by the son of Cooch Behar Uttar BJP MLA Sukumar Roy. By sheer luck, Dey survived that attack. Roy’s son is now in jail,” Barman said.

“Today (Saturday), the son of one of our gram panchayat pradhans, Amar Roy, was brutally murdered. Amar was also an active Trinamool worker. We demand exemplary punishment for the criminals involved,” he added.

Biraj Bose, the BJP’s Cooch Behar district general secretary, claimed the BJP did not believe in the politics of murder.

“When the son of a ruling party gram panchayat pradhan can be killed in broad daylight, it shows the state of law and order in Bengal. If the son of a gram panchayat pradhan from the ruling party has no security, then where is ther any safety for commoners?” Bose asked.