WB Panchayat Election: BJP candidate's brother-in-law murdered in Dinhata, 7 killed so far in election violence

In the midst of the upcoming Panchayat elections in Coochbehar, the state of West Bengal has been marred by another murder, further intensifying political tensions. The victim has been identified as Shambhu Das, a relative of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Visakha Das, who is contesting for Tirdah Gram Panchayat in Kishamat Dasgram of Dinhata. With this recent incident, the death toll has reached seven individuals, all occurring in the lead-up to the elections.

Allegations have emerged suggesting that Trinamool Congress supporters were involved in Shambhu Das' murder. It is claimed that he was summoned from his home late on Saturday night and subsequently killed. However, leaders from Trinamool Congress in Dinhata have vehemently denied these allegations, asserting that the incident is unrelated to politics.

Naren Das, the father of the deceased, stated, "Some people had called my son from home at night. My elder son's wife is a BJP candidate, and that is why my younger son Shambhu was killed." The BJP Mandal President of Block 2 in Dinhata, Ajay Rai, further alleged that Trinamool Congress, under the leadership of Udayan Guha, has been instilling fear in the area since the previous morning. Rai also accused Trinamool Congress of forcibly seizing nomination papers from their candidates and resorting to violence.

BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh expressed concerns about the role of the State Election Commission, questioning their effectiveness in handling the situation. However, Udayan Guha, a state minister and Trinamool MLA, refuted all the accusations, stating that the murder was unrelated to politics.