A Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in the Jagatdal area in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as Ashok Shaw, a former TMC president of Jagatdal Ward No 12.
Ashok Shaw was shot multiple times by miscreants who also hurled bombs when he was standing in front of a tea stall, only a few hundred metres away from Jagatdal police station, police said. He was attacked around 9 am in full public view while he was having tea at a roadside shop.
The TMC leader, out on bail in a 2020 murder case, was rushed to the nearby Bhatpara State General Hospital where he succumed to his injuries, a senior police officer said. Meanwhile, police have launched an investigation in the case.
A few others, who were also injured in the attack, were undergoing treatment in hospital. Police Commissioner of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate Alok Rajoria has rushed to the spot with a huge police force.
"We have started an investigation. Interrogation of the suspects is already on. We haven’t found any political connection in this killing," Rajoria told reporters. The murder sparked a huge protest with locals staging a demonstration outside the Jagatdal police station.