Overview

• According to police, bike-borne assailants opened fire on Khan near an irrigation canal by Chakai village, killing him instantly with shots to his back and head.
• Authorities have arrested Ibrahim and Khasim Sheikh, sons of former booth president Nasim Sheikh, as police interrogate the suspects, extending their search for additional participants.
• Security in Sonamukhi block has been tightened with increased police patrols following the killing.
• Khan’s family points to a feud over drainage-line funds and land distribution; TMC leaders accuse the BJP and CPI(M) of orchestrating the attack, a claim the BJP rejects as evidence of Trinamool infighting.
• This attack is the ninth killing of a TMC worker or leader since early July, a surge that has intensified scrutiny of law-and-order in the run-up to next year’s assembly elections.