Kolkata, Sep 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Police have arrested two persons in connection with the murder of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, who was shot at point-blank range in Bolpur in West Bengal's Birbhum district.
Police said their preliminary investigation suggests that a land dispute and the involvement of a land mafia could be linked to the incident.
Birbhum Superintendent of Police Vidit Raj Bhundesh said on Tuesday that one of the arrested persons, Sheikh Anarul, is a mobile phone dealer. Meanwhile, the other, Dipankar Roy, is involved in land dealings.
However, the police are still searching for the shooters.
The police produced the accused before the Bolpur Sub-Divisional Court on Tuesday and remanded them to police custody.
Police suspect that BJP booth president Chandan Bhalla was killed because of a dispute linked to the land mafia.
The Birbhum SP said that, following the initial investigation into the September 27 murder case, two persons had been arrested. He added that they were not the shooters but were involved in the incident.
According to him, the case appears linked to a land dispute, although the investigation is still underway and it would be premature to comment further.
It may be recalled that on the night of September 27, two assailants allegedly shot Chandan Bhalla dead at point-blank range in Mil Para of Ward No. 12 under the Bolpur Municipality area before fleeing on a motorcycle.
Bhalla was the BJP booth president of Ward No. 11. According to police sources, he was called out of his house before being shot in the head.
Police have identified the two people arrested so far as Sheik Anarul and Dipankar Roy alias Tenu.
Anarul runs a mobile phone shop at Aarti Cinema, Tala More, Bolpur.
Investigators said Dipankar Roy had purchased a mobile SIM card from Anarul a day before the incident.
Roy is known locally as a land dealer. Several allegations relating to land grabbing, illegal land conversion, unauthorised construction and encroachment on tribal land had reportedly surfaced against him in the past.
According to the investigation, the newly purchased SIM card was inserted into a basic 2G mobile phone, and a call was made to BJP leader Chandan Bhalla on the evening of the murder.
Police suspect that Dipankar Roy made the call.
Investigators tracked the suspects through call detail records and subsequently arrested the two accused.
A police sniffer dog had earlier traced the movement of the assailants from the crime scene to the Aarti Cinema Tala crossing area.
However, police maintained that neither of the arrested men was the actual shooter.
The SP said police teams were continuing their search for the gunmen. He added that the two shooters and the motorcycle used in the crime were yet to be traced.
The firearm allegedly used in the murder has also not been recovered.
Birbhum Police, along with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Special Task Force (STF), are jointly investigating the case.
Forensic experts have already collected samples from the crime scene and sent them for examination.
According to the preliminary investigation, the murder appears to have stemmed from a land dispute.
Police sources said the deceased worked as a clerk in the Land and Land Reforms Department in Bolpur and was also involved in land transactions.
Residents alleged that Bhalla had been engaged in a prolonged dispute with members of the land mafia over a parcel of land in the Sian area of Bolpur, estimated to be worth around Rs 3 crore.
Source: IANS
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