Ruling Trinamool Congress and BJP traded charges today over the gruesome murder of a college student in North 24-Parganas district with opposition Left too joining in the tussle.
The blame game came even as one person was arrested in the case and remanded to seven-day police custody.
After completion of police and medical procedures, the dismembered body of Sourav Chowdhury was brought at his residence at 8.30 pm. Sourav was allegedly killed for starting a drive against hooch dens in the area allegedly run by prime accused Shyamal Karmakar, who is absconding.
In the day, political parties indulged in allegations and counter-allegations. BJP state president Rahul Sinha, who visited the house of Sourav, demanded a CBI investigation into the killing for "fair probe" claiming that accused persons were from Trinamool Congress.
"As the accused persons are from the ruling party, we do not feel that the state police will be able to hold an independent probe, so we want a CBI investigation into the killing," Sinha said, claiming that the 21-year old student was a BJP activist while Karmakar was a TMC supporter.
Rubbishing the claim, TMC North 24-Parganas District President Jyotipriyo Mullick said "Chowdhury was a supporter of Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad, the students' wing of the ruling party".
"I can tell you that Sourav was a TMCP supporter. His family members may have been supporters of a different party, but he was certainly with us," he told reporters.
"The main accused Shyamal Karmakar was seen in several BJP rallies in the locality," Mullick, the West Bengal Food and Supplies minister, claimed.
Joining in the TMC-BJP tussle, CPI(M) state secretary and Left Front chairman Biman Bose accused the goons of Trinamool Congress behind Sourav's killing.
"The police has turned into slaves of ruling Trinamool Congress. The goons and anti-social elements of Trinamool Congress are running the roost in the state," Bose alleged.
Meanwhile, Anup Talukdar, who was one of the accused named in the FIR, was arrested in a raid in the area on the charges of kidnapping and murdering Sourav Chowdhury, Additional Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said.
Talukdar was later produced before the Barasat district court and was remanded to seven-day police custody.
