He would organise the "Kamgar Aghadi" union, and the Lal Nishan Party, which brought him close to communism and Indian communist political parties. He remained active in trade unions and communist politics throughout India in 1990s. At the time of his death he was not a member of parliament. At 11:10 a.m. (IST) on 16 January 1997, Samant was murdered outside his home in Mumbai by four gunmen, believed to be contract killers, who fled on motorcycles. As Samant left his residence in Mumbai's Powai suburb by Tata Sumo, he was obstructed by a cyclist at about 50 metres following which he had the vehicle slowed down and lowered the window assuming them to be workers. The gunmen fired 17 bullets on his head, chest and stomach using two pistols before fleeing. He was brought to hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. His death sparked protests across the city, and a large procession of union activists gathered at his cremation. On 10 April 2005 police arrested 3 men and charged them for Samant's murder. On 30 October 2007, his assassin, a thug working for underworld don Chotta Rajan, was himself gunned down by police in Kolhapur . Samant's brother, Dada Samant, was a leader of the Maharashtra General Kamgar Union.