Political violence in West Bengal: Contract killings rise as out-of-state gangs enter politics in Kolkata

Brazen assassination attempts in broad daylight, supari killings, shootings in public places – West Bengal’s grassroots politics quickly resembles a gritty gangster film that should be studied by every mainstream director. The land mafia and its political connections wage a brutal war for territory, both to gain business and political control.

Violence and bargaining have become part and parcel of Bengal’s socio-political fabric, but there is a new twist to this widespread violence – political and otherwise. The practice of hiring hitmen from known out-of-state gangs contract killings it quickly spread throughout the state.

This growing trend became evident again after the recent assassination attempt on Trinamool heavyweight leader Sushanta Ghosh of south Kolkata on November 15, just two days after another locally influential ruling party leader, Ashok Sahu, was shot dead at a tea stall in Bhatpara in Barrackpore.

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On November 15, at 8.30 p.m., influential councilor Sushanta Ghosh was sitting outside his house on the busy Kasba main road in south Kolkata. Two motorcyclists approached him, and one of them aimed his gun at close range and pulled the trigger twice. Ghosh survived only because the gun malfunctioned. Local residents arrested the gunman, 18-year-old Yuvraj Kumar from Vaishali district in Bihar. As of November 21, three other people involved in the attempted murder remain at large, including the motorcycle driver. Police investigation revealed that the attackers were members of the notorious Pappu Chowdhury gang from Bihar. After the attack, Ghosh said: “This is a ward I have been caring for for ten years… I am not shocked but worried that the situation has deteriorated to the point where I am being targeted by public figures, in my home… Political fights will be there either , but trying to kill an opponent is not in our culture.

Property dispute

While factional clashes within the Trinamool are common in Kasbah, where Ghosh is a prominent leader, this particular assassination attempt arose out of a property dispute. After Yuvraj’s arrest, police arrested taxi driver Ahmed Khan and his mastermind, Mohammed Afroz Khan (alias Gulzar), a local businessman from Bihar. Caught while trying to escape to Bihar, Gulzar alleged that one of Ghosh’s henchmen had forcibly taken over his 2,000 square feet plot valued at around Rs 1 crore. In retaliation, he planned Ghosh’s murder by contacting Pappu Chowdhury’s gang. Under Gulzar’s command, gang members had already made two failed attempts on Ghosh’s life in July and October. This time they prepared thoroughly, and one member, Chandu (alias Chhotu), arrived a week in advance to plan the attack. Reports indicate that Gulzar paid Rs 50 lakh to the gang for the hit.

Land has become a major source of conflict in Kolkata and its surrounding suburbs. Powerful syndicate bosses – a euphemism for extortionists operating in the housing and infrastructure sectors – linked to various factions of the ruling party are engaged in fierce intra-party disputes over territorial control of their operations.

Trinamool leader shot dead

The attempt on Ghosh’s life came just two days after the Trinamool leader from Bhatpara was murdered in full public view at a tea stall, a stone’s throw from the Jagaddal police station. On the morning of November 13, local Trinamool leader Ashok Sahu was sitting at his usual hangout – a tea stall in one of Bhatpara’s busiest areas – when three assailants shot him dead. As they fled, they threw crude bombs to stop the pursuit. The police then arrested four people in connection with the crime, including Sunny Das and the main perpetrator, Sujal Prasad. According to police, Sujal and Sunny had tried to kill Ashok earlier in February 2023. The killing is being seen as an act of revenge linked to the murder of Sujal’s brother Akash in 2020.

“Akash Prasad was killed in 2020 and one of the accused charged was Ashok Sahu, whose death occurred on November 13,” said Alok Rajoria, commissioner of Barrackpore city police. The incident also highlighted the proliferation and easy availability of illegal weapons and ammunition in the state.

An increase in the number of contract killings

Contract killings, once alien to Bengal despite the state’s long history of violence, have increased at an alarming rate over the past few years. Just last year, hired killers killed two businessmen with political influence in the Durgapur-Asansol coal belt. Arvind Bhagat was killed in the lobby of his hotel in Asansol in February 2023, and Rajesh Jha was killed in April while driving his car on a highway. One of the earlier cases of hiring contract killers from outside the state was when in 2017, Srinivas Naidu, a Trinamool strongman from Kharagpur, was shot dead at the party office by Jamshedpur-based killers. Since then, contract killings have continued to rise, with targets ranging from local leaders and councilors to legislators and ministers.

Veteran political analyst Biswajit Bhattacharya pointed out that such contract killings, though rare earlier, were confined to areas of high criminal activity such as the Asansol and Durgapur coal belt and zones known for sand and cattle smuggling. “We are now seeing the spread of contract killings in Kolkata as well. This was not the case earlier, but land conflicts have brought contract killings to the heart of Kolkata,” Bhattacharya said Frontline.

Strom in Trinamool

Two recent incidents exposed internal divisions within the Trinamool after several top leaders criticized the state police even though the Home Department was under the control of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Kolkata Mayor and Cabinet Minister Firhad Hakim burst out: “Enough is enough. I tell the police to take action immediately. How do weapons reach the state even after receiving instructions from the Prime Minister? How does this happen? Where is the intelligence? Where is the network? How do so many criminals from outside enter the country?”

Senior party leader and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Saugata Roy echoed Hakim’s concerns: “How do 9mm pistols reach Kolkata from Bihar? What are the police doing? Is there no one to guard the borders? Can the police not catch anyone?”

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A section of the party interpreted the criticism of the police as an indirect attack on Mamata herself. Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee slammed critics: “In Trinamool, many people have faced corruption charges. They should leave immediately. Saugata Roy and Bobby (Firhad) Hakim were involved in the Narada case (an operation where top Trinamool leaders, including Hakim and Roy, accepted cash on camera). Why are they still around? Who has the right to question Mamata Banerjee’s capabilities? Not Saugata Roy, not Bobby Hakim, not Humayun Kabir. (Kabir, a Trinamool MLA from Bharatpur, advocated for Mamata’s nephew and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee become deputy CM and entrusted commander of the National Police.)

Nevertheless, the assassination of Sushanta Ghosh shocked the police, who, after a sharp public lashing from the Prime Minister, carried out raids across the state, recovering many illegal firearms and arresting over 60 people.