All the three arrested so far are in their early 20s —Sami Akhter (20), Tinku Ghosh (22) and Abdul Ghani (23). While Tinku Ghosh is a local resident, two others are from Katihar.
The three were produced at a court, which sent them to police custody till January 14.
According to police, the three accused were following the TMC leader’s movements for the last 10 days and did a recce of his house too. “The motive of the murder is, however, not yet clear,” said a police officer involved in the probe.
On Thursday morning, Dulal Sarkar was shot by three men on a motorbike. He succumbed to injuries later in the day.
Meanwhile, Sarkar was cremated on Friday. Ministers Firhad Hakim and Gautam Deb and several TMC leaders from the region attended the funeral.
“We have asked the police to find out the truth behind the murder. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is personally closely monitoring the probe. The CM has said that the real face or the mind behind the murder should be exposed. It is taking a day or two but the truth will come out,” said Hakim.
Minister Gautam Deb said, “Babla was not just a party leader. I was very close to him and we shared a long relationship. It is extremely shocking. I am sure there is a huge conspiracy behind it.”
English Bazar Municipality chairman Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury said that hired killers were involved in the murder. “I have come to know that Rs 10 lakh was allegedly paid for the crime. Police are currently investigating the matter,” said Choudhury.
Soon after the murder, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had hit out at Malda Superintendent of Police Pradeep Kumar Yadav, holding him accountable for the murder. Alleging that Sarkar’s murder was “due to the negligence of police”, the CM had said: “He was attacked before. He used to get security. It was later withdrawn.”
A TMC leader said Sarkar has been closely working with the chief minister for several past years even before the TMC came to power in the state.
” He was very popular and very approachable too. The six-time councillor, Sarkar first won the civic polls on a Congress ticket. He then moved to the TMC and held the post of vice-chairman of the party’s Englishbazar Municipality unit. He was very close to Didi (Mamata Banerjee). Every time she was here, Sarkar used to bring home cooked food for her,” the TMC leader said.