It could beat any action movie scene. There was an open area, with a man holding a pistol, targeting his frontman. The independent candidate was trying to escape from the barrel of the gun, while several others stood around. The gunman became the focus of the media cameras. But the man wearing a black T-shirt shouted: ‘Kuch paroya nehi’ and then fired at his target.
However, the shot missed the target in the crowd, and the independent candidate managed to run away by then. On the morning of the panchayat elections, an incident reminiscent of the killing of Atiq Ahmed in front of the media cameras took place at Prayagraj in UP.
The same episode sans killing happened at Mohanpur in Barrackpur in front of media cameras. This time, the independent candidate miraculously survived, and all of this happened in front of a large media presence. This image is shocking.
Independent candidate Arijit Das survived in Barrackpur. The opposition parties have consistently complained that workers from the ruling party are not allowing them to approach the polling booths. There was no police presence, and central forces were nowhere to be seen.
The area was relatively empty, with about twenty-five people present. Independent candidate Arijit Das had been active since the morning. He complained that voters had been detained since morning, while proxy voting was being allowed. When he protested, all the anger was directed towards him.
Allegedly, a bomb was initially targeted at him near the booth, followed by a pursuit with a raised pistol. Three shots were fired in quick succession. A young man dressed in a black T-shirt shot publicly in front of everyone, and the media cameras captured the moment.
The independent candidate initially took cover behind a shop shed and then managed to escape. The twenty-five-year-old man, with a pistol in his hand, was seen walking away after missing the target. However, his actions have practically altered the script of Bengal’s political landscape.