The brutal killing of a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district has triggered a political firestorm, with the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition BJP trading accusations over the motive behind the crime.
Police said on Sunday that a search is underway for two more suspects in connection with the death of Rajib Biswas, a BJP booth president in Baruipur, who was assaulted and set ablaze on August 8. His father and brother, both accused of leading the attack, have already been arrested.
According to investigators, Biswas was kicked, punched, and beaten with bamboo sticks and sharp weapons before being set on fire inside a house, which has since been sealed. He later succumbed to his injuries. Authorities have described the incident as a fallout of a long-running family feud.
The BJP, however, has rejected the police version, insisting that the murder was politically motivated. Party leaders allege that Biswas’s father and brother were members of the TMC and claim that the two other men still at large are also affiliated with the ruling party.
“This was not just a family matter. Rajib Biswas was murdered because he refused to bow down,” BJP leader Sankudeb Panda said. He alleged that the killing followed a dispute over putting up BJP flags and posters of Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.
Panda also shared a video on social media purportedly showing the attack, in which two men can be seen beating a youth as he screams for help, while two others stand by. The footage has not been independently verified by PTI or other news outlets.
Calling the murder “an act of political vendetta,” Panda demanded that the investigation be handed over to a central agency, arguing that the state police could not be trusted to act impartially.
The TMC has strongly denied any link to the incident. Local councillor Archana Mallick said that those arrested were not members of the ruling party. “On August 9, I was informed by some family members that the youth was in critical condition. I advised them to take him to hospital, and later I heard he had died. This is purely a family dispute. The BJP is trying to give it a political twist,” Mallick said.
She added: “We don’t believe in the politics of murder. Those responsible must be punished.”
The killing has deepened tensions in the politically volatile district, which has long witnessed clashes between supporters of the BJP and TMC.
