Malda/Kolkata: A Trinamool Congress leader was arrested on Wednesday for the Jan 2 murder of his party colleague, Dulal Sarkarin Malda. Accused Narendranath Tiwarithe party’s English Bazar Town president and the Malda Hindi cell chief, allegedly handed over a Rs 50 lakh contract to eliminate Dulal, the district vice-president, police said.
Local trader Swapan Sharma — who has criminal antecedents and was described as Tiwari’s “aide” — was also arrested. The two were remanded in three days’ police custody.
Tiwari, his two brothers and Sharma were questioned overnight since Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, while he was being taken to court, an unshaven and disheveled Tiwary strongly protested his innocence. “I am being framed. A ‘big shot’ conspired to kill Dulal, and is now trying to send me to prison. I am in no way connected with the murder,” he told reporters.
The murder had drawn a strong reaction from party chief Mamata Banerjee herself. She held police negligence for the murder, questioning why local cops had withdrawn his security in 2021 despite previous attempts on the popular neta’s life.
In Kolkata, ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar told the press that it was a “planned murder”, although the motive was not clear. “We are trying to ascertain the money trail, and the amount of money that changed hands,” he said. “So far, Tiwari and Sharma appear to be the main plotters. We are probing to ascertain whether some more influential person was involved, though there is no such hint yet…. There was a Rs 50-lakh deal. We had previously It was their questioning that led us to call Tiwari and Sharma to the police, where an SIT, led by the Malda SP, questioned them.
The police, he added, were yet to recover the murder weapon.
Dulal had been shot to death by four men. The entire incident was caught via the closed-circuit cameras of a shop, into which he had tried to hide when the assailants gave chase.
Even though the ADG said the murder motive was not clear, Bengal Police sources hinted — anonymously — that the crime might have been in retaliation to Tiwari being assaulted by Dulal’s men during the 2022 local body elections.
Tiwari had an old rivalry with Dulal, and he publicly vowed to finish Dulal off “after a 2022 incident”, said English Bazar Municipality chairperson Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury, adding, “It is evident that he connived with a criminal like Sharma to kill Sarkar. ” Chowdhury also alleged that a section within the party was shielding Tiwari. Junior state minister Sabina Yeasmin, however, dismissed this allegation, saying, “Let the law take its own course. The party will never stand by criminals.”
Dulal’s widow Chaitali, who was the first to publicly raise the issue of political links behind her husband’s murder, said: “I am confident the police will dig out the perpetrators. I suspect there is more to it, that there are bigger players.”
The ADG said seven persons — including Tiwari and Sharma — had been arrested over the murder so far. “Two more locals are still absconding. This includes one Asrar Khan, the driver of the vehicle in which the killers arrived at the spot, along with three others, including Shami, Krishna Rajak and Tinku. The other accused is Babloo Yadav, who was Not present in the vehicle, but is believed to have provided logistics, which is again being probed. Three of the accused — all sharpshooters — are from Katihar in Bihar. absconding are locals,” he added.
The police have announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh to anyone who can provide information about the two absconding men. “We have distributed posters of the accused at key localities. We have also advertised on social media, seeking public help to nab them,” the ADG said.
Tiwari, now in his 60s, began his political career in Congress under Ghani Khan Choudhury and has been a councilor of English Bazar Municipality several times. In 2001, he became municipality chairperson. He also fought assembly elections as a Congress candidate from English Bazar before he switched allegiance to TMC in 2019. In 2022, he lost the municipal polls and blamed “internal sabotage, engineered by Dulal Sarkar” for his loss. The bitterness between Tiwari and Dulal plunged beyond repair after the former was assaulted by Dulal’s men after that year’s civic poll results.
His aide Sharma, the owner of a nursing home, has a criminal record, with charges of murder, rioting, firing and bombing pending against him. He is still under trial in a case at Calcutta High Court. Of late, however, he has been seen involved in “philanthropic and social work”.
Local trader Swapan Sharma — who has criminal antecedents and was described as Tiwari’s “aide” — was also arrested. The two were remanded in three days’ police custody.
Tiwari, his two brothers and Sharma were questioned overnight since Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, while he was being taken to court, an unshaven and disheveled Tiwary strongly protested his innocence. “I am being framed. A ‘big shot’ conspired to kill Dulal, and is now trying to send me to prison. I am in no way connected with the murder,” he told reporters.
The murder had drawn a strong reaction from party chief Mamata Banerjee herself. She held police negligence for the murder, questioning why local cops had withdrawn his security in 2021 despite previous attempts on the popular neta’s life.
In Kolkata, ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar told the press that it was a “planned murder”, although the motive was not clear. “We are trying to ascertain the money trail, and the amount of money that changed hands,” he said. “So far, Tiwari and Sharma appear to be the main plotters. We are probing to ascertain whether some more influential person was involved, though there is no such hint yet…. There was a Rs 50-lakh deal. We had previously It was their questioning that led us to call Tiwari and Sharma to the police, where an SIT, led by the Malda SP, questioned them.
The police, he added, were yet to recover the murder weapon.
Dulal had been shot to death by four men. The entire incident was caught via the closed-circuit cameras of a shop, into which he had tried to hide when the assailants gave chase.
Even though the ADG said the murder motive was not clear, Bengal Police sources hinted — anonymously — that the crime might have been in retaliation to Tiwari being assaulted by Dulal’s men during the 2022 local body elections.
Tiwari had an old rivalry with Dulal, and he publicly vowed to finish Dulal off “after a 2022 incident”, said English Bazar Municipality chairperson Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury, adding, “It is evident that he connived with a criminal like Sharma to kill Sarkar. ” Chowdhury also alleged that a section within the party was shielding Tiwari. Junior state minister Sabina Yeasmin, however, dismissed this allegation, saying, “Let the law take its own course. The party will never stand by criminals.”
Dulal’s widow Chaitali, who was the first to publicly raise the issue of political links behind her husband’s murder, said: “I am confident the police will dig out the perpetrators. I suspect there is more to it, that there are bigger players.”
The ADG said seven persons — including Tiwari and Sharma — had been arrested over the murder so far. “Two more locals are still absconding. This includes one Asrar Khan, the driver of the vehicle in which the killers arrived at the spot, along with three others, including Shami, Krishna Rajak and Tinku. The other accused is Babloo Yadav, who was Not present in the vehicle, but is believed to have provided logistics, which is again being probed. Three of the accused — all sharpshooters — are from Katihar in Bihar. absconding are locals,” he added.
The police have announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh to anyone who can provide information about the two absconding men. “We have distributed posters of the accused at key localities. We have also advertised on social media, seeking public help to nab them,” the ADG said.
Tiwari, now in his 60s, began his political career in Congress under Ghani Khan Choudhury and has been a councilor of English Bazar Municipality several times. In 2001, he became municipality chairperson. He also fought assembly elections as a Congress candidate from English Bazar before he switched allegiance to TMC in 2019. In 2022, he lost the municipal polls and blamed “internal sabotage, engineered by Dulal Sarkar” for his loss. The bitterness between Tiwari and Dulal plunged beyond repair after the former was assaulted by Dulal’s men after that year’s civic poll results.
His aide Sharma, the owner of a nursing home, has a criminal record, with charges of murder, rioting, firing and bombing pending against him. He is still under trial in a case at Calcutta High Court. Of late, however, he has been seen involved in “philanthropic and social work”.
