In a horrific incident in West Bengal, a 27-year-old real-estate promoter was shot dead in broad daylight on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) in Howrah. The gruesome murder was caught on CCTV camera, where miscreants fired multiple rounds on the victim.

The CCTV footage showed two men shooting Shafique Khan as he fell down on the road. One of the accused was identified as Haroon Khan.

Later in the day, Opposition parties including the BJP shared videos of the accused riding pillion on the motorbike of local Trinamool Congress MLA Gautam Chowdhury.

On alleged links to the legislator, the MLA defended himself saying that he is a public representative and thousands of people meet him on a daily basis. “I am a public representative. I get to meet thousands of people daily. It is not possible to find out who is a criminal and who is clean. A murder has taken place and the police will find the culprits,” Mr. Chowdhury said.

The West Bengal BJP leadership said that Nabanna, the State secretariat under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is located in Howrah in close proximity to the spot where the shootout took place.

Journalist covering incident attacked

A few hours after the murder, a journalist who was covering the incident was assaulted by a mob. Mayukh Thakur Chakraborty, a journalist working for ABP Ananda, was left profusely bleeding. Mr. Chakraborty had asked the MLA about videos of the accused surfacing with him appearing in media.

This is not the first time that a journalist has been assaulted. Few weeks ago, a woman TV journalist was assaulted by a mob at Beldanga in Murshidabad district. “The fourth pillar of democracy, the media, has once again been attacked. In West Bengal, it’s not the rule of law, but the law of the rulers that prevails,” Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said.