Bengal Polls: CPI(M) Youth Activist Killed in Islampur, Party Accuses TMC

Kolkata: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has condemned the “brutal killing” of 27-year-old party activist Noor Azam Alam in Islampur, Uttar Dinajpur district, alleging that he was abducted and tortured by assailants linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). CPI(M) state secretary Mohd. Salim described the incident as “butchery of democracy” and demanded exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.

According to family members and eyewitnesses, Alam, a CPI(M) worker from Nahalpur under the Gunjaria Gram Panchayat, received a phone call late at night and went missing soon after. Hours later, he was found outside his home in a severely distressed condition, incoherent and repeatedly naming TMC hooligans as his abductors. He urged his family to call the police, but his condition deteriorated rapidly. In a state of breakdown, he collapsed while attempting to climb the stairs and was declared dead upon arrival at the local hospital, the family said.

Alam had been a CPI(M) activist in the Islampur-2 area committee. He had led a rally when a senior party comrade, Sami Khan was announced as the CPI(M) candidate for the constituency. Party leaders alleged that his rising popularity made him a “target of intimidation by local TMC forces.”

Political Allegations

Salim has directly accused the TMC candidate and sitting MLA Kanhaiyalal Agarwal of “sheltering the assailants” responsible for Noor’s death. “This is not just a murder of a comrade, it is a murder of democracy,” Salim said, calling on the Election Commission of India to intervene and ensure free and fair polls in West Bengal. The first phase of polling will be held on April 23.

District CPI(M) Secretary Anwarul Haq confirmed that Alam had been receiving threats in the days leading up to the incident. He described the killing as a “clear case of political murder” amid escalating poll violence in the region.

Police Inaction and Public Outrage

Family members alleged that local police initially refused to register a complaint, citing political pressure. Only after news of Alam’s death spread did police arrive with heavy deployment, taking the body for post-mortem. By then, thousands of CPI(M) supporters had gathered at his home, cordoning off the area and demanding justice. Agitations continued late into the evening, with slogans of “Red Salute to Comrade Noor” echoing through Islampur.

The incident adds to a growing list of violent clashes in Uttar Dinajpur, a district that has witnessed repeated confrontations between CPI(M) and TMC workers during the election season. Civil society groups have expressed concern that such killings reflect the deepening criminalisation of politics in West Bengal, where grassroots activists often bear the brunt of electoral violence.