KOLKATA: A Bhatpara Trinamool Congress leader had a close shave on Wednesday when gun-toting miscreants riding pillion on a motorbike opened fire at him but missed.
Trinamool Town Committee member Asim Roy, 54, was targeted when he was waiting for an autori-ckshaw around 8am to get to the party office at Rathtala Bazar. After the miscreants missed hitting him, someone gave Roy a shove, making him fall to the ground.
Locals took Roy to Bhatpara State General Hospital where he got four stitches on the head. “Local BJP leaders hired miscreants to kill me so they could get back control of the area,” he alleged.
Trinamool senior and Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim said BJP was using such tactics in constituencies they won in 2019. “The BJP leaders hire sharpshooters from outside the state to kill people. It won’t work any more,” Hakim said.
Barrackpore’s BJP MP Arjun Singh said Roy was a victim of “bitter factionalism” in local TMC. “Asim Roy, alias Bhulu, is a known extortionist. Why should BJP target him?” he said.
Barrackpore Police has initiated a probe.
