A 62-year-old Congress activist in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district was arrested on April 9 for allegedly bombing the house of his son, who is a Trinamool Congress (TMC) member. Zahiruddin Sheikh threw crude bombs at the house of his son Anisur Sheikh, who is the TMC youth wing president of Raninagar 2 panchayat area, on Saturday night. The relationship between Zahiruddin and Anisur soured after Anisur and his wife joined the TMC during the 2018 panchayat elections. Shefali Seikh, Anisur’s wife, was made the panchayat pradhan by the TMC, following which she and her husband started living separately from her in-laws. No one was injured in the attack, but panic gripped the area. Anisur alleged that his father attacked his house to prevent him from fighting the next panchayat polls. The Congress dismissed the charges, claiming that it does not believe in violence, “which is the hallmark of TMC”. Zahiruddin’s relationship with his son Anisur soured after Anisur and his wife Sefali Seikh joined the TMC during the 2018 panchayat elections. Shefali was made the panchayat pradhan by the TMC, and after that, she and her husband started living separately from Zahiruddin and his wife, according to locals. This seems to have been a source of tension between the two parties.
It is not uncommon for different political parties to accuse each other of using violence during elections in India. In this case, the Congress party has denied any involvement in the bombing incident and accused the TMC of being associated with violence. Zahiruddin Sheikh, the Congress activist who was arrested, has denied the allegations against him and claimed that his daughter-in-law orchestrated the incident to gain public sympathy. The police are currently investigating the matter to determine the truth behind these allegations.
