West Bengal minister gets ‘life threat from Bangladeshi hitman’

Food Minister of India's West Bengal state Jyotipriyo Mullick claimed to have received death threat from a Bangladeshi criminal and sought protection from police in this regard.

Jyotipriyo, also a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and the chairman of the party's North 24 Pargana district unit, filed a written complaint in this connection with Gobardanga Police Station in the district on May 5, a police official of the station confirmed to our Kolkata correspondent seeking anonymity.

"One of my colleagues received a phone call from a Bangladeshi number and the caller identified himself as a professional killer," said Jyotipriyo.

The caller told the colleague that Devdas Mondal, a top criminal from Bongaon and some BJP leaders of Thakurnagar area have hired him to kill Jyotipriyo for 25 lakh Rupees and gave him five lakh Rupees in advance, the food minister said quoting his colleague.

However, the caller said he was told Jyotipriyo is a TMC leader, but he had no idea that Jyotipriyo is the food minister of West Bengal.

Contacted, BJP aspirant from Bongaon Shantanu Thakur refuted the allegation against his party and instead blamed Jyotipriyo trying to kill him by attacking his motorcade on May 4.