Sources said Hossain was targeted for opposing rampant cow smuggling in the district. His condition is said to be critical.
West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain and his followers were injured after unidentified miscreants lobbed crude bombs on them at Nimtita railway station in Murshidabad district late on Wednesday evening.
Sources said Hossain was scheduled to take a train to Kolkata to attend Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s workers’ meet at Pailan on Thursday when crude bombs were hurled at them.
Following the attack on platform number two at the railway station, Hossain and his injured followers were taken to Jangipur sub-divisional hospital for treatment.
Hossain, the minister of state for labour, was referred to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital but he is being taken to a hospital in Kolkata. Sources said he was targeted for opposing rampant cow smuggling in the district. His condition is said to be critical.
TMC’s Murshidabad district president Abu Taher Khan said, “It is not clear who has attacked him. I have asked the SP to conduct a thorough probe into the incident and find out who is responsible for this.”
State Congress president and Berhampore Lok Sabha MP, Adhir Chowdhury said, “The minister was attacked because he was opposed to cow smuggling and corruption in the district. He had opposed the people who were involved in these activities. This could be the reason why he was targeted today. But the law and order has reached an all-time low in the state.”
West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said even ministers are not safe in Bengal. “This incident is a proof that there is no law and order in the state. Even ministers are not safe here,” said Ghosh.
The incident comes hours after the TMC expelled Mosharaf Hossain, the sabhadhipati (president) of the Murshidabad Zilla Parishad (district council) on charges of anti-party activities. He is among those leaders in Murshidabad who are known to be close to BJP leader and former TMC minister Suvendu Adhikari.
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