The murder of a Trinamul leader was followed by the retaliation by a furious mob that lynched one of the assailants in a crowded market in the Sarisha area of Diamond Harbour on Thursday morning.

Noor Salam Beg, 41, a former panchayat area president of the party’s youth wing, was killed with sharp weapons by a gang of four when he was returning home on his bike.

The murder unleashed panic among people, some of whom turned furious after they nabbed two of the goons trying to escape on a motorcycle. One of them, Sarifuddin Mollah, was lynched. The other, Moinul Hasan, was beaten up till the police rescued him. He has been detained.

Local sources said Mollah, was the brother-in-law of slain Trinamul leader Beg. Both the deceased were residents of the Chandnagar-Mullickpara of Diamond Harbour.

Diamond Harbour police, after a preliminary probe, ruled out any political angle behind Beg’s murder, terming it a fallout of “personal enmity”.

According to eyewitnesses, around 9am, four goons led by Mollah blocked Beg’s way. Before he could kick-start his motorcycle, goons reportedly attacked him with a sickle and began to hack at him indiscriminately. “Beg tried to escape towards the NH117 (Diamond Harbour Road), but they caught him and brought him down on the ground where they stabbed him until he died,” an eyewitness said.

Stunned, some in the crowd who saw the gruesome scene, tried to block the way of the assailants as they tried to flee on motorcycles. “Two of the assailants managed to flee, but two others were caught. Mollah was beaten to death and the police rescued the other,” an eyewitness said.

A police team led by additional police superintendent Palash Chandra Dhali rushed to the spot and dispersed the mob. The police also recovered two sharp weapons.

SP of Diamond Harbour police district, Avijit Banerjee, told The Telegraph: “We have begun two separate cases in connection with the two incidents and have detained two persons. We are trying to identify the others involved in the incident. A search has been initiated to arrest the other suspects. It appears personal enmity led to the murder.”

Family sources claimed Beg earned the wrath of Mollah a few years ago when he made a submission before court as a witness against him in connection with a criminal case. The enmity deepened recently when Beg bought a plot land that Mollah had been eyeing.

Murder bid

Rana Dasgupta, 45, a block-level Trinamul leader at Naihati in North 24-Parganas, escaped an attempt on his life on Wednesday night as unidentified goons fired at him at close range when he was coming home in a private vehicle. The incident occurred in the Sibdaspur area.

Bullets fired by the goons pierced the windscreens of the car. The incident unleashed tension as angry Trinamul workers blocked Kalyani Expressway on Thursday morning for about an hour, demanding the arrest of the culprits.