Trinamool’s Rajjak Khan Shot Dead in Bhangar; Police Arrest Two

Trinamool Congress block president Rajjak Khan was shot several times and hacked with sharp weapons on Thursday night while returning home in Bhangar’s Chaltaberia area of South 24 Parganas, police said. The 38-year-old leader, a close aide of local TMC MLA Saukat Molla, died at the scene around 9:30-10:00 p.m. Kolkata Police recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem examination. Molla blamed the Indian Secular Front for orchestrating the attack, alleging that ISF-backed criminals carried out the killing to intimidate TMC workers. ISF leader Md. Mortaja Khan rejected the charge, calling the murder an outcome of internal Trinamool rivalry, while ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe. The exchange has heightened political tension in an area that has repeatedly witnessed clashes between the two parties. Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma confirmed that two people have been arrested and that additional suspects are being sought. Investigators have not disclosed a motive, saying findings will depend on forensic results and further questioning. Security has been stepped up in Bhangar as authorities try to prevent fresh unrest.