A TRINAMOOL Congress (TMC) leader was seriously injured after he was allegedly shot at in Cooch Behar on Thursday evening, police said on Friday. The son of local BJP MLA Sukumar Roy, Dipankar Roy, and his driver, Uttam Gupta, were arrested in connection with the case, police said. Raju De, member of the TMC’s Uttar Panchayat Samiti in Cooch Behar, underwent surgery and is now stable, police said citing doctors.
A personal vehicle belonging to the Roys that was allegedly used in the crime was also seized by the Cooch Behar police. BJP MLA Roy, however, denied all the allegations and claimed that his son has been “falsely framed” in this case.
“All these are baseless allegations. They (TMC) have no organisation in this constituency. They are now trying to frame BJP workers before the 2026 Assembly election,” claimed the MLA.
District Superintendent of Police Dyutiman Bhattacharya said, “Two more persons are suspected to be involved in the incident. A search is on for them. A forensic team is examining the seized vehicle.”
According to the police, when Raju De was returning home from a meeting on Thursday evening, a black-coloured car approached him and the occupants opened fire. Local residents took De to a nearby nursing home, where he underwent surgery, police said. Doctors said his condition is now stable.
TMC Coochbehar district president Abhijit Det Bhowmik claimed, “A few days ago, the BJP MLA (Sukumar Roy) visited Chakchaka area to interact with the people. Some local residents, under the leadership of Raju De, staged a protest in front of him. This seems like an act of revenge.”
In a post on X, the ruling TMC wrote, “The 2024 Lok Sabha results from Bengal made it clear that @BJP4India was rapidly losing ground in Cooch Behar. Now that the district has slipped from their iron-fisted grasp, they’ve returned to what they do best: unleashing BRUTE, MINDLESS VIOLENCE. Our Panchayat Samiti worker from Cooch Behar II was shot in cold blood. CCTV footage confirms the involvement of @BJP4Bengal MLA Sukumar Roy’s son, flanked by their usual gang of armed goons. When you can’t win people’s trust, can’t secure a mandate, can’t fight a clean election, you shoot your way through…”
The BJP, however, denied all the allegations.