A CPI(M) worker’s murder put Nabagram on the boil, days before the Jangipur Lok Sabha bypoll in Murshidabad. Abdul Hamid Sheikh was shot dead by unidentified miscreants on Saturday evening. Alleging the Congress had a hand in the killing, the CPI(M) observed a 12-hour bandh on Sunday. However, amidst the tension, cricketer-turned-Congress MP Mohammad Azharuddin campaigned for party candidate Abhijit Mukherjee during the day.
Abdul, a CPI(M) local committee, was attacked by miscreants when he was returning home after attending a campaign meeting of the CPI(M) candidate for the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency. The miscreants first attacked him with sharp-edged weapons and then shot him dead. The CPI(M) accused the Congress of trying to create an atmosphere of fear by resorting to violence before the October 10 Jangipur LS byelection in Murshidabad district in which President Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit is a contestant. “The Congress is trying to create an atmosphere of violence and fear among Opposition parties as it is in a difficult position over the UPA government’s anti-people policies,” CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose said.