As the dates of panchayat elections are approaching, West Bengal seems to have become a place for political battleground, with violence taking over in the game of one-upmanship.
Following the Ram Navami clashes, now the opposition leaders seem to be on target, as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raju Shah has been shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Shaktigarh in East Burdwan district on Saturday.
The shootout took place in Shaktigarh’s Amra, where Jha’s car was parked outside a sweetshop. According to eyewitnesses, the incident happened around 8 pm when bullets were fired from a blue-coloured four-wheeler that had just arrived at the scene.
Along with Jha, one other person was injured in the firing. Both of them were rushed to a nearby hospital, where Jha was declared dead. The other person is said to be undergoing treatment.
Jha, who had joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 assembly poll, was shot dead while he was sitting inside his car. He was said to be on his way to the state capital, Kolkata.
“A shootout incident took place. Motive motive has yet to be asserted. We have already started an investigation,” a police official told The New Indian. However, for the sake of the investigation, the police official excused himself from providing any other details.
While Jha took an active part in the 2021 assembly election, reports said that he has not been actively involved in politics ever since. He was reportedly focusing on his business as well as the coal trade, in which he is actively involved.