Bengal girl killed allegedly after TMC workers hurled bombs during victory rally
Kolkata: A 13-year-old girl was killed in an explosion triggered by a crude bomb allegedly hurled by workers of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) while they were celebrating the party's victory in the bye-elections at Kaliganj in West Bengal's Nadia district on Monday afternoon. Police said they shall spare no stones unturned to nab the culprits . (Representational image)
'Today, a 13-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries sustained from an explosion in Kaliganj PS area of Krishnanagar police district. We shall spare no stones unturned to nab the culprits who were behind the incident. Raids are on in full swing to arrest those responsible for this extremely unfortunate death,' the state police wrote on X.
Alifa Ahmed, the TMC candidate, won the bye-election by 50,049 votes. While Ahmed received 102,759 votes, Ashish Ghosh, the BJP-candidate, received 52,710 votes.
The by-election was necessitated after the death of former TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed in February this year. Nasiruddin Ahmed was the father of Alifa Ahmed. The TMC has been winning the seat since 2011.
'I am shocked and deeply saddened at the death of a young girl in an explosion at Barochandgar in Krishnanagar police district. My prayers and thoughts are with the family in their hour of grief. Police shall take strong and decisive legal action against the culprits at the earliest,' Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, wrote on X.
Ziaul Sheikh, a local resident who was also beaten up, said, 'TMC workers and supporters were playing with green colour, shouting slogans, bursting crackers. Crude bombs were being hurled indiscriminately at the houses of CPI(M) and Congress workers and supporters. One such bomb killed the 13-year-old girl.'
The TMC had first won the seat in 2011 when it came to power ending the 34-year-old Left regime. Nasiruddin Ahmed was elected the TMC legislator. In 2016, he lost the seat to Congress-CPI(M) alliance candidate Sheikh Hasanuzzaman. However, Hasanuzzaman later joined Trinamool. Nasiruddin reclaimed the Kaliganj seat in the 2021 Assembly polls. The seat fell vacant after his demise.
The bye-election is being seen as a litmus test for both the ruling TMC and its arch rival the BJP ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
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