Attack At Trinamool Office In Kharagpur, Councillor's Husband, Friend Dead

Kolkata: The husband of a Trinamool Congress councillor and his friend died as unidentified assailants opened fire inside the party office in Kharagpur this afternoon. Councillor Pooja Naidu's husband Srinivas Naidu, and his friend Dharma Rao, were declared dead when they were taken to a hospital in Kolkata - a three-hour journey by road.

Three others also got gunshot wounds in their head and chest and have been admitted to a local hospital.

Srinivas Naidu, locally known as Srinu, was at the office of his wife Pooja, the councillor from ward 18, when a group of unidentified men rushed in around 2.30 pm.

The men, who had driven to the office located on Kharagpur's outskirts, hurled bombs, stormed in, opened fire and, within minutes, fled. The councillor was unhurt.

According to some police sources, the incident appeared to have been a gang war as Mr Naidu -- a businessman involved in a lot of work with the railways -- is believed to have had underworld connections.

Politics erupted over the incident within hours. The legislator from Kharagpur is Dilip Ghosh, the state chief of the BJP.

Trinamool lawmaker Subrata Bakshi said the police have been asked to investigate the incident "carefully".

"The person who won the legislative assembly elections here -- he is showing his muscle power to establish his supremacy not only in Kharagpur but across Bengal. His involvement should be investigated by police," he added.

BJP leader Shamik Bandopadhyay said, "Bengal is heaven for miscreants. They are acting without fear. The Kharagpur BJP legislator is in Bangladesh. So the Trinamool allegation is baseless".