The factional feud within the Trinamul Congress reached its peak on Tuesday when the son of a former Trinamul block president, Ashok Ghosh, who was shot to death on Monday, accused party’s heavyweight Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal and Ashok Mukherjee of his father’s murder.
A section of Trinamul Congress workers protested and shouted slogans against Mr Mondal and demanded CID investigation into the death of Ghosh. The intensity of the incident was so high that even party’s secretary general Partha Chatterjee was greeted with massive protest when he, alongwith Mr Mondal, went to pay their final respect to Ghosh.
The party workers allegedly stoned Mr Chatterjee’s car and gheraoed him outside Suri Sub-divisional Hospital where the body of Ghosh was kept. Despite Mondal being the initial target of the party members, Mr Chatterjee faced the wrath of the protesters.
It was Ghosh’s leadership which many said led the party to victory in the panchayat polls in the area. As the protest gained momentum, Mondal had to be cordoned off by police while Mr Chatterjee gave assurance that the guilty shall be punished. However, that did not deter the workers from staging another round of protests. They ransacked a Trinamul party office in Khairasole before setting it on fire. Mr Chatterjee later visited the fire-ravaged party office ignoring the fresh demonstrations by Trinamul workers.
“No one will be spared. We will have to find out if there is any conflict behind the killing. The chief minister is worried and therefore has sent me to look into the matter. I will give my report to her shortly. Two persons have been already arrested by police in connection with Ghosh’s murder,” Mr Chatterjee said.
Meanwhile, Ghosh’s son Biswajit alleged that the party’s district president Anubrata Mondal was behind the killing of his father. “He and Ashok Mukherjee conspired against my father and plotted his murder. A fortnight ago, my father told me that he would not live long as goons backed by Mondal are behind him. I urge the chief minister to immediately arrest the accused and take harsh measures against them,” Mr Biswajit Ghosh said.