India News | One Arrested, Two Detained After Councillors of TMC, Cong Shot Dead in Bengal

Kolkata, Mar 14 (PTI) A day after two councillors, one of the TMC and the other of the Congress, were shot dead in two districts of Bengal, the police said on Monday that one person has been arrested and two others detained for their alleged involvement in the murders.

Congress councillor Tapan Kandu and TMC's Anupam Dutta were on Sunday evening shot dead in separate incidents in Purulia's Jhalda and North 24 Parganas district's Panihati areas respectively.

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In Dutta's case, one person, suspected to be the shooter, was arrested from Agarpara in North 24 Parganas after locals caught him on Sunday night as he was trying to flee, according to a senior police officer.

"The accused, after committing the crime, had changed his shirt and hid inside a jungle in the district. Locals, who knew he was hiding, set the jungle on fire, forcing him to come out. He was then handed over to the police. The firearm used in the crime, one mobile phone without a SIM card, and a train ticket were found in his possession," the officer said.

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The suspected shooter was produced before a local court, which sent him to 10-day police custody

Apart from that, another person has been detained in connection with the Panihati councillor's murder, the senior officer said, without divulging further details.

During the day, Kandu's elder brother has also been detained from Jhalda area in Purulia.

Kandu was a four-time councillor from Jhalda.

Birbhum Superintendent of Police S Selvamurugan, when contacted, said that no written complaint has been filed in connection with the murder of the Congress councillor thus far, but the deceased leader's elder brother had been detained.

Family members of Kandu alleged that Kandu was under "immense pressure" to join the ruling TMC, and his refusal to give in to that demand caused his death.

"We are probing the matter. As of now, we can't say anything more as the investigation is in a very preliminary stage," Selvamurugan added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)