KOLKATA: Several thousand activists paraded through a West Bengal townSunday with the body of a politician whose killing opened a campaign ofviolence ahead of India’s general election.
Satyajit Biswas, a lawmaker from the eastern state’s ruling TrinamoolCongress (TMC), was shot dead at point-blank range by unidentified gunmenas he attended a ceremony for a Hindu goddess late Saturday.
His party blamed the arch-rival Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi but its leaders denied any involvement.
“We suspect a political link to the killing,” said West Bengal deputypolice chief Anuj Sharma. He added that two people had been arrested butwould not say if they were from a party.
Followers marched with the 38-year-old legislator’s body from a hospital inNadia district, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Kolkata, to his homevillage.
Nadia, which borders Bangladesh, was a battleground between the TMC and BJPduring civic polls last year. There were dozens of deaths during thecampaign.
Modi must soon announce a national election expected to start in April andwhich will almost certainly see new bloodshed.
Biswas “had been actively trying to prevent the BJP’s foray into thecommunity,” said TMC general secretary Partha Chatterjee as he blamed therival party for the “shocking killing”.
West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh blamed the murder on splits in the TMC.
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“When there is a political killing, they accuse my party. Let there be aCentral Bureau of Investigation inquiry, everything will become clear,” hetold *AFP*.
West Bengal witnessed gruesome political murders around past elections withvictims hacked to pieces and some burned alive along with entire slums.
There is a close link between criminal networks and political groups in thestate, according to Sabyasachi Basu Roy Chowdhury, vice-chancellor ofRabindra Bharati University in West Bengal. “This has complicated theproblem,” he said.
According to the *Indian Express* newspaper, in 2013 the Communist Partyaccused the TMC of killing 142 political opponents ahead of the lastnational election.
Political killings are rife across India. While National Crime Bureau datasaid there were more than 100 political murders in 2016, political expertssaid the figure is much higher.
Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states in the north are the worst forpolitical murders, the government data shows. – APP/AFP
