Four BJP supporters headed to PM Modi's Bengal rally killed in train accident
The victims, travelling from Murshidabad to attend PM's rally in Nadia, were hit by a train amid dense fog, which also forced the PM’s helicopter to return to Kolkata
Four BJP supporters were killed after being hit by a train while traveling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in West Bengal’s Nadia on Saturday (December 20). One person was seriously injured and is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
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The prime minister was scheduled to hold an administrative meeting and a public rally at Taherpur in the Matua-dominated Ranaghat Lok Sabha constituency.
Foggy conditions cause death
To attend Modi’s rally, around 40 BJP supporters hired a bus and came to Taherpur from Murshidabad. According to police sources, five of them got down from the bus and were relieving themselves on the railway tracks when a train suddenly arrived on the same line.
Due to fog, they reportedly failed to notice the train’s movement. The accident occurred on the Krishnanagar–Ranaghat branch line between Taherpur and Badkulla stations. Three people died on the spot. Their bodies were recovered and taken to the Krishnanagar GRP police station. Two seriously injured persons were taken to the hospital, where doctors later declared one of them dead. Preliminary information suggests that all the deceased were residents of the Baran area in Murshidabad district.
Dense fog in the Taherpur area even prevented the prime minister’s helicopter from landing at the designated helipad. The chopper returned safely to Kolkata airport, and officials are exploring alternative arrangements for him to address the rally virtually from the Kolkata airport instead of the planned venue.
TMC slams BJP leadership
Meanwhile, reacting to the train accident, the Trinamool Congress posted a strong statement on its official X handle. The party alleged that people were brought in from other districts and “herded like sheep and cattle” for Prime Minister Modi’s rally without proper safety protocols, crowd management, or concern for human life.
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The statement claimed that the victims “paid with their lives to feed the ego of one man and the vanity of one party”. It further accused the BJP of repeatedly risking ordinary lives for political spectacle and headline dominance, alleging that this was not an isolated occurrence.
The party said the BJP leadership at the highest level was responsible, arguing that if the “Pradhan Sevak” could not ensure that a political rally did not turn into a tragedy, then the minimum owed was an official apology and his resignation from office.