West Bengal Political Violence Escalates After Election Results; BJP Leader's Aide Shot Dead

Kolkata. Political violence that started immediately after the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections were made public has taken a violent turn.

A few days after the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a majority by winning 207 out of 294 seats, tension in the state reached its peak following the shooting and killing of Chandranath Rath, the personal secretary of senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, in Madhyamgram of North 24 Parganas.

Rath, who played a key role in ensuring Adhikari's victory against Mamata Banerjee in both Nandigram and Bhawanipur constituencies, was systematically murdered on Wednesday night. Following the incident, a series of violent clashes and arrests have begun in various parts of Bengal.

The police, investigating the incident, have discovered that the attackers had planned with great cunning. The Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal, Siddhinath Gupta, personally visited the hospital to provide information on the progress of the investigation.

The police have taken a suspicious four-wheeled vehicle into custody near the scene, whose number plate was scratched. Upon investigating the number plate, it was revealed that the vehicle was registered in the name of William Joseph, a resident of Siliguri. However, when the police contacted Joseph, it was found that his actual vehicle was safely in a garage in Siliguri, about 557 kilometers away from the scene.

This confirms that the criminals had been monitoring Rath for the last three-four days using a fake number plate and had carried out the murder with a complete plan. The police have also heightened vigilance in border areas and at the borders of Bangladesh and Jharkhand.

Political Claims and Counterclaims

Although BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari hinted that the incident might be due to political animosity, he appealed to his workers to exercise restraint and not take the law into their own hands. "We will not jump to any conclusion right now, but it is true that TMC has always practiced politics of terror; the police should be allowed to investigate," Adhikari said.

BJP leader Agnimitra Paul directly linked it to politics, saying, "This is perhaps a consequence of Mamata Banerjee's defeat in Bhawanipur."

Meanwhile, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has strongly condemned the murder and urged that it not be given a political color. TMC claims that three of its workers have been killed in attacks by BJP-supported activists since the election results were announced.

The party said in a statement, "We strongly condemn the incident in Madhyamgram and demand a CBI investigation under court supervision to bring the culprits to justice."

Electoral violence has erupted in Bengal since Monday when the results were announced. According to police data, more than 1500 people have been arrested across the state so far on charges of electoral violence. Following the murder of Rath, and with the anger of BJP workers escalating outside the hospital and in the Madhyamgram area, a large number of central security forces have been deployed to control the situation.