A fresh wave of political violence has gripped West Bengal as four Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers have been killed in the past fortnight, allegedly due to internal factional disputes within the ruling party.
The latest incident occurred in Bharatpur, Murshidabad, where a 54-year-old party worker, Shasthi Ghosh, was allegedly hacked to death late on Wednesday night.
According to local sources, Ghosh, a resident of Selai village under Alu Gram Panchayat, was returning home around 11 p.m. when he got into an altercation with a group of men on the road. “Five assailants on two motorcycles reportedly attacked him with sharp weapons during the argument. Severely injured and bleeding, Ghosh was rushed to the Kandi Super Speciality Hospital by locals but was declared dead on arrival,” said a police officer.
His family alleged that the killing stemmed from a long-standing intra-party conflict. "There are two Trinamool groups here. They had been planning to kill my uncle for quite some time," claimed Ashish Ghosh, the deceased’s nephew, though he did not name any suspects.
Apurba Sarkar, TMC’s Murshidabad organisational district president, assured that the police were actively investigating the case. “No one involved in this incident will be spared,” he said.
Police have begun scanning CCTV footage in the area and are probing all possible angles, including personal enmity and political factionalism.
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This incident follows a disturbing pattern of violent deaths among TMC workers across Bengal in recent weeks.
In Birbhum, Piyush Ghosh, a local area president of the party, was found murdered near his home on July 13. According to police reports, he had received a phone call around midnight and left his house shortly afterwards. He was shot from point-blank range in the back of the head, and his body was discovered lying in a pool of blood by the roadside. His motorcycle was found nearby.
Just two days earlier, on July 11, TMC leader Rajjak Khan was brutally murdered in Bhangar, located in South 24 Parganas. Khan was ambushed by a group of motorcycle-borne assailants while returning home late at night. Eyewitnesses reported that the attackers not only opened fire on him but also stabbed him with sharp weapons to ensure his death. He was rushed to a local hospital but was declared dead on arrival. The killing led to widespread protests and unrest in the region.
Another TMC worker was also shot dead in Malda district on July 14, and an investigation by police revealed a feud between two factions was responsible for the incident.
Earlier in June, two more TMC workers were killed in separate incidents in Murshidabad’s Shamsherganj and Hariharpara areas. In one case, a party worker was bludgeoned to death inside a house using bricks. In the other, a TMC worker was shot dead by unidentified assailants. These killings have raised serious concerns about rising political violence and internal conflict within the ruling party across West Bengal.
The spate of murders has triggered widespread concern within the party and among political observers. While families and party workers frequently cite intra-party rivalries as the root cause, some leaders also point fingers at opposition forces.
As investigations continue, political tension remains high in several districts. The state police have intensified security deployment in sensitive areas, while party leaders are under pressure to address the growing unrest within their ranks.
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