Mamata's Terror rule in Bengal with Mafia help

Trinamool man shot in party office

Mamata Orders CID Inquiry, Ministers Rush To The Scene Real Estate Rivalry May Be Behind Brazen Daylight Murder

Sanjib Chakraborty | TNN 31.10.2011

A police officer inspects the Trinamool office on Jessore Road where party leader Manoj Sahani (inset) was shot dead on Sunday morning. (Right) The family in mourning

Kolkata: A Trinamool Congress youth leader was gunned down in a party office in Dum Dum, north Kolkata, just before noon on Sunday. Police suspect it was a contract hit, spurred by vicious rivalry in the real estate business. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered a CID probe into the murder, said municipal affairs and urban development minister Firhad Hakim. 
    Thirty-five-year-old Manoj Sahani was watching a TV soap at the Jessore Road New Quarters party office when a gunman stormed in, walked right up to him and shot him in the chest. People in the busy locality stood stunned as the killer walked out into a waiting taxi. 
    It’s as if the brazen nature of the murder was intended to send a message, say local residents. The killing triggered hectic political activity. Two ministers — Hakim and Madan Mitra (sports) — rushed to Sahani’s home along with local MLA Sujit Basu.They promised a quick inquiry into the murder and “demanded” that police immediately arrest the killers. Senior police officers, including DIG(PR) Siddhi Nath Gupta and North 24-Parganas SP Champak Bhattacharya personally investigated the scene of the crime. However, till Sunday night, there were no leads and no one had been detained. 
    Manoj, a resident of Durganagar in Dum Dum, had criminal antecedents and was involved in supplying building materials, say police. It is a big bucks business, where crime syndicates and a section of politicians have an interest. The CPM and Trinamool are locked in a brutal battle to gain control of this multi-crore trade, say sources. On September 10, CPM leader Mosharaf Mollah was gunned down in broad daylight on Rajarhat main arterial road by gunmen on a bike. Like Trinamool’s Manoj, Mollah was also a building materials supplier in Rajarhat, the city’s northern outskirts that is going through an unprecedented realty boom. 
    Trinamool leaders on Sunday alleged that CPM-backed miscreants plotted Manoj’s murder because he ran a realty business “in an area dominated by a CPMled syndicate”. 
    “After the Trinamool Congress came to power in the state, the CPM can no longer lead the syndicates. CPM-backed miscreants have unleashed a reign of terror in the locality by killing an active Trinamool worker like Manoj. They want to gain control of the real estate businessin the area. We have asked senior police officers to conduct a proper inquiry into his murder,” said Hakim. 
    CPM state committee member Amitava Nandy rubbished the allegation. “It is completely baseless. None of our men are connected to the crime. The Trinamool is playing a political game with such unsubstantiated allegations,” Nandy said. 
    After preliminary investigation, police suspect that a contract killer carried out the murder. Some eyewitnesses are being questioned to get a description of the attacker. “The killer fired at him at point-blank range. Manoj was struck in the left side of his chest. The motive behind the murder has not been ascertained yet. We are investigating all the possible angles,” a police officer said. 
    According to police, the killer struck a little after 11.30am, possibly after ascertaining that the Trinamool leader was alone. They could have studied his movements over the past few days. Eyewitnesses say a yellow taxi stopped in front of the party office with the engine running. There were two passengers in the rear seat. One of them got out and walked quickly into the one-room office, pistol drawn. Manoj had no time to react. The killer stood barely two feet from him and fired. He turned around and walked back to the taxi as Manoj slumped to the ground. 
    Locals took Manoj to Dum Dum hospital where he was declared brought dead. 
    “Some locals partially remembered the taxi’s registration number as ‘5154’. We are looking for the vehicle and its owner. Raids are being conducted at several areas to nab the criminals. Some local miscreants who were involved in the building materials supplying business are also being interrogated. Nearby police stations, including Baranagar and Barrackpore, have been alerted,” a police officer said. 
    Police said that Manoj had a criminal past. He was accused in a murder in the airport area last year. “Manoj was arrested in this connection and released on bail after he surrendered before the court. We are investigating whether gang rivalry could be a motive behind the murder,” the officer added.