Youth arrested over councillor’s murder; slain Cong leader’s wife alleges TMC hand killing of the two councillors had been discussed during chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s routine meeting with the chief secretary and the home secretary

State Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury with Purnima, wife of murdered councillor Tapan Kandu, in Jhalda on Monday. : Purnabh Mahato

Subhasish Chaudhuri And Kinsuk Basu   |   TT  |  Kalyani/Calcutta   |   15.03.22: Police have arrested a man who was allegedly seen in CCTV footage firing at Trinamul Congress councillor Anupam Dutta at Agarpara in North 24-Parganas on Sunday evening.

Amit Pandit, a resident of Haringhata in Nadia, was arrested on Monday. The murder occurred when the Panihati municipal councillor was getting on a scooter after speaking to a section of residents on North Station Road at Agarpara in North 24-Parganas.

In connection with the murder of Tapan Kandu, the Congress councillor at Jhalda in Purulia district, on Sunday evening, police have detained two of his family members for questioning.

Source in Khardah police, under whose limits Agarpara is located, said Dutta had objected to using a large patch of green land for real estate use and it had led to enmity with some promoters.

Bereaved family members said Dutta was against the green land’s use for real estate despite pressure from a section of Trinamul leaders..

Meenakshi Dutta, wife of the slain Trinamul councillor, has demanded a CBI probe expressing lack of faith in the police. “Higher authorities of the police should look into the matter but I want a CBI probe,” Meenakshi told reporters.

“I have come to know that a person has been arrested. I have also seen CCTV footage of a person firing at my husband. It appears to be a well planned conspiracy that cannot be executed without the support of local people. The police have not told me what they gathered from the killer, the motive behind the murder and who had engaged him,” she added.

The investigators said Pandit was a driver by profession. He was spotted by local residents when he was trying to hide behind a thicket. They informed the police, who combed the area and nabbed him.

Pandit, who is also a member of an orchestra team, had allegedly shot at his friend Ziarul Mollah in Haringhata last year. Pandit’s elder sister Aparna said: “He is a Trinamul worker, but was never active in politics. I don’t know how he turned into a criminal.”

A team of CID officers visited the site where Dutta was shot dead from point blank range.

“The visit is a part of the CID’s preliminary probe. As and when there is a formal order to the CID to take over the probe, all details collected will come of ready help,” said a senior officer of the home department.

Sources at Nabanna said the killing of the two councillors had been discussed during chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s routine meeting with the chief secretary and the home secretary on Monday.

The CID team also held a meeting with investigators at Khardah police station. The CID wanted to know about those present at a meeting Dutta had before he was shot dead. The meeting had apparently been held to discuss the formation of the new civic board at Panihati.

Deceased Congress councillor Kandu’s wife Purnima alleged on Monday that the officer-in-charge of the Jhalda police station had exerted pressure on him to join Trinamul. She is also a councillor at Jhalda.

The Congress has won five of 12 wards at Jhalda. Trinamul has five councillors and the remaining two are Independents.

Kandu was killed while he was out for a stroll with his wife.

“The officer in-charge of the local police station had been putting pressure on my husband to join Trinamul ever since the results were announced. He had even threatened to implicate my husband in false cases unless he joined the ruling party and helped it form the civic board.”

Purulia district Congress president and former MLA Nepal Mahato alleged that Kandu wasn’t giving in to the Trinamul pressure and one of the Independents had extended support to the Congress. “In such circumstances, Kandu was murdered,” he said.

Sources in Nabanna said the case was handed over to the CID.

Senior police officers in Purulia, however, refused to comment on the allegations.

(Additional reporting by Snehamoy Chakraborty)