Sattar Mollah, the CPM South 24-Parganas district secretariat member, being taken to a Baruipur court, which remanded him in judicial custody till July 31. Telegraph picture

Bhangar, July 17: A Trinamul worker was shot dead last night at Bhangar in South 24-Parganas, a district where the ruling party and the CPM are locked in a constant battle for turf control.

Sattar Mollah, a CPM South 24-Parganas district secretariat member close to Abdur Rezzak Mollah, was arrested along with five other party workers today in connection with the murder. The CPM has denied its cadres were involved.

Sattar and three others were remanded in judicial custody till July 31. Two of the accused were remanded in police custody for four days. All six have been charged with murder and conspiracy. Four others named in the FIR are absconding.

Trinamul won the South 24-Parganas zilla parishad after defeating the CPM in the 2008 panchayat elections but the Opposition party still has pockets of strength there, such as the Sankshahar panchayat area, where last night’s murder happened.

On January 6 this year, Abdur Rezzak Mollah, the Canning East MLA and the CPM’s most influential leader in South 24-Parganas, was attacked near Bhangar by a Trinamul mob allegedly led by Arabul Islam, a former Trinamul MLA of Bhangar.

Two days later, a convoy of vehicles carrying CPM supporters to a rally to protest the attack on Mollah, was set on fire in South 24-Parganas. The CPM accused Arabul of involvement in the attack.

Arabul, arrested on January 17 in connection with the case of assault on Rezzak, is now out on bail.

Nazrul Ali Mollah

Rezzak Mollah today said that Sattar, because he aided the CPM MLA in his campaign work in the district, had been Trinamul’s “target” for a long time.

Sources said Nazrul Ali Mollah, who was shot dead last night, was known to be vocal and a tough campaigner against the CPM in the Sankshahar panchayat area.

“The CPM which had in 2008 won the Sankshahar gram panchayat, is still strong in the area. If free and fair polls are held, probably the CPM will win that gram panchayat this time. Realising this, the Trinamul led by Arabul and Kaiser Mollah have launched a strong campaign against the CPM before the panchayat polls,” said a local Congress leader.

Nazrul Mollah’s wife Lekjaan Bibi today said that the couple were asleep in a verandah of their home when she was woken up by the sound of a gunshot.

“My husband had dinner and went to sleep in the verandah around midnight. I too fell asleep. I was woken up by the sound of a gunshot. In the dim light of the lantern, I saw my husband bleeding profusely from the chest.”

Nazrul was taken to the National Medical College and Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

As the news of the death spread, local Trinamul workers came to Nazrul’s house, led by Arabul and Trinamul zilla parishad candidate Kaiser Mollah.

Arabul accused the CPM of plotting Nazrul’s murder. “The CPM killed him because he was one of the main forces behind our campaign for Friday’s panchayat elections in Bhangar. The murder was pre-planned by Sattar Mollah and his men,” Arabul said.

Today was the last day of campaigning in South 24-Parganas. Arabul has been elected uncontested to the Polerhat panchayat samiti seat.

The CPM denied Arabul’s allegations. District CPM secretary Sujan Chakraborty said the Left party was being framed by Trinamul.

“The CPM is not connected with the murder. It has been framed in the case. This is a dangerous trend…. They are trying to malign our party by bringing false allegations. We will inform the state election commission and the district superintendent of police,” Chakraborty said.

Rezzak Mollah said he “depended a lot on Sattar Mollah” for party work.

“He is close to me. He had been a target of Trinamul for long. They knew that if Sattar is arrested and kept off the panchayat poll campaign, we might lose the local Sankshahar gram panchayat which we had won in 2008,” he said.

At a rally in Nadia’s Habibpur, chief minister Mamata Banerjee told the crowd that her rivals “want to create trouble by committing murders. They want to spill blood”.

She said after the panchayat elections she would get all cases of atrocities against Trinamul workers probed.

“Panchayat nirbachaner por baksho khulbo…. Pratyek ta case bichar korbo.… Kon netara protection daye baar korbo. Banduk kotha theke aaschhe aar kothay jabe panchayater por dekhiye debo (After the panchayat polls I will open each box and investigate the cases. I will find out the leaders giving protection. I will show them from where the guns are coming and going after the panchayat polls),” Mamata said.

A senior police officer said a preliminary investigation had revealed that “even though one person had fired the shot (at Nazrul), there were possibly more people”.

Deputy inspector-general of police (Presidency range), Dilip Banerjee, said: “One person has been shot dead in Bhangar. We have arrested a few persons. An investigation is going on.”