West Bengal: 3 arrested in TMC leader's murder in Joynagar

Kolkata, Nov 20 (PTI) Three people were arrested in connection with the murder of a local TMC leader in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, police on Monday.

Saifuddin Laskar (47), TMC area president of Bamungachi area in Joynagar, was shot dead near his house in the early hours of November 13. Enraged supporters of Laskar, whose wife is a panchayat pradhan, caught two of the alleged assailants and lynched one of them. Another was rescued and arrested by the police, they said.

The three people arrested on Sunday night in connection with the murder were known in the area as TMC workers.

However, no arrests have been made in connection with the lynching.

After the incident, local TMC MLA Biswanath Das had claimed that goons supported by the CPI(M) and BJP were behind Laskar's murder.

A number of houses were ransacked, looted and set on fire in neighbouring Daluakhali village after the incident.

Some of the affected people of Daluakhali claimed that their houses were targeted and many of them were assaulted as they are CPI(M) supporters. They also claimed that their houses were set on fire in the presence of the police, and fire engines were prevented from dousing the flames.

Police said those arrested will be produced before a court, following which they will be interrogated. PTI SCH SOM