Kolkata, July 24 (IANS) A local panchayat member of Trinamool Congress in Murshidabad district of West Bengal is among the two detained on Thursday, in connection with a murder case.

The incident took place in the Bharatpur area in Murshidabad district. An official identified the deceased as Shasti Ghosh (55), a Trinamool Congress worker.

He was hacked by a group of miscreants near his residence early Thursday morning.

Locals found his body in a pool of blood and rushed him to a local hospital, where he was declared dead. According to the district police official, the murder could be a fallout of old enmity, as several criminal cases are pending against the deceased Trinamool Congress worker.

Two persons, including a local panchayat member, have been detained in connection with the incident. A specific case has been lodged, and an investigation has started. Prime facie investigation shows there is nothing political in this incident.

“It may be due to a previous grudge,” said a senior police officer of Murshidabad district.

However, he refused to name the two accused in the case.

The district police official also police said the deceased Trinamool Congress worker had to regularly appear at the local police station in connection with criminal cases related to robbery, dacoity, and murder, under which he was already booked.

The family of the deceased person, however, alleged that Ghosh was murdered for his connection to the state’s ruling party.

His nephew, Ashish Ghosh, without naming anyone, told media persons that there were two Trinamool Congress factions in the area. “They were planning to kill my uncle for a long time,” the nephew alleged.

Party’s Murshidabad organisational district president Apurba Sarkar, however, denied such charges.

“The police have already begun an investigation into this. Those involved in this incident will not be spared. But there is no question of any factional infighting in this case. Our party is not responsible for this. The murder could be a fallout of personal enmity,” said the Sarkar.

Meanwhile, in another incident, the nephew of a panchayat member was allegedly hacked to death at Madhusudanpur in the Kakdwip area of the South 24 Parganas district last night.

The deceased has been identified as Raqib Sheikh (27). The police have sent the body for a post-mortem and are awaiting the report.

–IANS

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