Leader’s killing sparks violence

Kolkata – Several thousand activists paraded through a West Bengal town yesterday, with the body of a politician whose killing opened a campaign of violence ahead of India’s general election.

Satyajit Biswas, a lawmaker from the eastern state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), was shot dead at point-blank range by unidentified gunmen as he attended a ceremony for a Hindu goddess late on Saturday.

His party blamed their archrival, Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but its leaders denied any involvement.

“We suspect a political link to the killing,” said West Bengal deputy police chief Anuj Sharma, adding that two people had been arrested but would not say if they were from a party.

Followers marched with the 38-year-old legislator’s body from a hospital in Nadia district, about 120km from Kolkata, to his home village.

Nadia, which borders Bangladesh, was a battleground between the TMC and BJP during civic polls last year. There were dozens of deaths during the campaign.

Modi must soon announce a national election, expected to start in April and which will almost certainly see new bloodshed.