Trinamool youth leader shot dead in Bengal, party blames BJP

Kolkata, Feb 25 (IANS) A Trinamool Congress youth leader was shot dead in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Monday, police said.

Nazimul Sheikh, a resident of Behrampur area, was allegedly shot dead by bike-borne assailants at around 10 a.m.

"Sheikh was shot twice by the miscreants near his residence. He was rushed to the Murshidabad Medical College where he was declared dead," an officer from Behrampur Police Station said.

The police said that the deceased had a number of criminal cases registered against him.

"Sheikh was charged in a number of criminal cases and imprisoned for a few months. He was associated with the Trinamool Congress. A probe is going on," the officer added.

The local Trinamool Congress leaders, however, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-backed miscreants for the killing, but the charge has been strongly refuted by the saffron outfit.

Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee said he would take up the matter with party's youth wing president Abhishek Banerjee and unite the party against such mischief.

"A number of Trinamool Congress leaders and activists have been killed in recent months and every time their party has tried to put the blame on BJP. But, the reality is something else. These deaths are a result of the factional fighting within the Trinamool," state BJP President Dilip Ghosh said.

"The fact is that all hooligans and miscreants in Bengal have taken shelter under the flag of Bengal's ruling party. They are freely conducting loot and violence as they are protected by the party. Trinamool government should stop blaming others and take action against these miscreants," he added.

The incident comes after Trinamool MLA Satyajit Biswas's murder in Nadia on February 9 after he was shot multiple times.