Arrest of Trinamool leader in party councillor’s murder raises questions on factionalism

Arrest of Trinamool leader in connection to murder of party councillor raises questions on factionalism within the party.

The arrest of a local Trinamool Congress leader on Wednesday (January 8, 2024) in connection with the murder of party councillor Dulal Sarkar in West Bengal’s Malda district has raised questions on whether factionalism within the party led to the crime. 

Trinamool leader from West Bengal’s Malda, Narendra Nath Tewari, was arrested on Wednesday in connection to the murder of Trinamool Congress councillor and vice-president of the party’s district unit, Dulal Sarkar, on January 2.

Along with Mr Tewari, one Swapan Sharma was also arrested by the police after marathon questioning that started Tuesday night. Police said they had hired contract killers for Rs 50 lakhs to execute the crime.

“Mr Sharma is a notorious miscreant who was named in multiple past instances of murder, riots etc. in the area. He and Mr Tewari were the primary conspirators behind this murder,” Supratim Sarkar, Additional Director General of Police (ADG) of South Bengal said on Wednesday. 

Mr Tewari is the Malda town president and Hindi cell district president of the Trinamool Congress in Malda. While being taken in the police vehicle on Wednesday, Mr Tewari alleged that he was being framed, and that “a more influential figure is involved in the crime”.

The deceased, Mr Sarkar, who was a six-time Trinamool councillor of Ward 22 in the Englishbazar municipality, was shot at Jhaljhalia More by miscreants in public on the morning of January 2. CCTV footage of a shop near Mr Sarkar’s house captured him running from the miscreants who chased him down and shot him from the back.

Chaitali Sarkar, the widow of the deceased leader and a councillor in the same municipality, had alleged earlier that her husband’s murder was part of a deep political conspiracy.