Kolkata, June 15 (IANS): Charging the BJP and the CPI-M with conspiracy, the ruling Trinamool Congress Sunday accused former state minister and Marxist leader Kanti Ganguly of being involved in the killings of its four activists in West Bengal.
Ganguly, along with 21 others, has been named in the first information report for the incident that happened in Khari village in South 24 Parganas district Saturday night when some miscreants hurled bombs and opened fire at Trinamool activists, killing four of them and injuring three others.
A Trinamool delegation led by general secretary Mukul Roy and senior leader Partha Chatterjee Sunday visited Khari village and talked to locals.
"Locals have told us that hours before the attack Kanti Ganguly visited the place. They have alleged his connivance in the attack.
"We have instructed the administration to bring this fact under the purview of their investigation and hand over exemplary punishment to the perpetrators," Chatterjee said after the visit.
Reacting to the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to create unrest in Bengal.
"There is a conspiracy by the BJP and the CPI-M to discredit our government by creating communal tension and incite violence. We will not tolerate this we will take strong action," said Banerjee.
Rubbishing the allegations, Ganguly attributed the killings to Trinamool's internal feud.
"The allegations against me are baseless. In fact, the incident is an outcome of internal feud in the Trinamool between those who have newly joined the party and the old timers.
"The CPI-M has nothing to do with the attack. The Trinamool is dragging CPI-M into this to malign us," said Ganguly.
The BJP too has refuted the charges.
Four people were arrested and remanded to police custody by a local court during the day.
The Trinamool has said it will observe a "Black Day" across the state Tuesday in protest of the attack.