Bengal BJP leader Prasanta Basunia shot dead at home by 2 men in Cooch Behar village

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[google-translator]

Two unidentified men barged into the house of a local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and shot him dead in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district on Thursday. Police identified the victim as Prasanta Basunia, general secretary of the BJP’s local committee in the district’s Dinhata area.

An officer at Dinhata police station said on condition of anonymity said police personnel are questioning the Basunia’s family and neighbours for clues (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
An officer at Dinhata police station said on condition of anonymity said police personnel are questioning the Basunia’s family and neighbours for clues (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Basunia was about to have lunch when two men stormed into the house and shot him from close range, the family told the police. He was declared dead on arrival at the Dinhata government hospital.

Police said the victim’s mother told investigators that she could identify one of the assailants and that she had seen him earlier.

An officer at Dinhata police station said on condition of anonymity said police personnel are questioning the Basunia’s family and neighbours for clues

Samik Bhattacharya, West Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson, claimed Basunia was killed by criminals sent by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

“This is a political murder. Basunia was targeted to weaken the BJP’s organisation before the panchayat elections. Criminalisation of politics is an achievement of the ruling party,” said Bhattacharya. He did not cite any evidence to back his allegation.

Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari also pointed fingers at the TMC and demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In a post on Twitter, Adhikari said TMC leaders in the region were exiting the party and joining the BJP. “Scared by this desertion, the Top level Leadership of the TMC Party got rattled. This gruesome political murder is the reaction,” he said.

The Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat is represented by Union minister of state for home affairs Nisith Pramanik who left TMC and joined BJP before the 2019 parliamentary elections. The BJP has a strong presence in the north Bengal districts.

TMC’s Dinhata legislator Udayan Guha dismissed the BJP’s claims. “The crime had nothing to do with politics. Police are conducting an investigation and the truth with be revealed soon. Basunia had a criminal record,” Guha said.

Police said roadblocks were set up in the area soon after the incident.

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