Kolkata: The post-mortem report of a BJP worker who was found hanging from an electric pole in Purulia’s Balarampur town has ruled his death as a suicide.
The BJP, however, dismissed the report, saying it will approach the Centre for a CBI probe.
Dulal Kumar, a 32-year-old BJP secretary in Balarampur’s Block 10 Zila Parishad, was found dead on Saturday morning in second such incident this week. Kumar had been credited with ensuring BJP’s victory in recent panchayat elections in Balarampur’s Khatberia area.
“Dulal’s body was sent for post-mortem examination and the report says that he committed suicide,” said Purulia SP Akash Bagaria. Bagaria took charge of the post on Saturday evening after the Mamata Banerjee government removed his predecessor Joy Biswas for failing to control crime in the area.
“It was categorically mentioned in the post-mortem examination report that he died due to asphyxiation because of hanging and it was suicidal in nature. We are trying to find out why he took the extreme step,” said Bagaria.
BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu, however, maintained the party earlier charge that Dulal had been murdered. “The state administration is trying to suppress the matter. It is clearly a case of murder and we want CBI probe into the matter. We will write a letter to Union Home Ministry for a high-level probe. We don’t trust the state CID officers who are investigating the case,” Basu said.
Hitting back at the saffron party, Trinamool Congress’ District President Shanti Ram Mahato said, “We knew that it is a case of suicide, but the BJP is trying to politicise the matter.”
Dulal’s body was found in a farmland near his house. The incident came after an 18-year-old BJP worker was found dead in similar circumstances on May 29 in Balaramapur.
Meanwhile, BJP supporters put up road blockades and prevented goods vehicles from plying on national highways at different places in the district, PTI reported. The administration, however, dubbed it as a "normal Sunday" when schools, colleges, banks and government offices remained closed.
Balarampur wore a deserted look as the locals largely stayed indoors. The scene was similar in other parts of the district, where public and private vehicles stayed off the roads, and shops and markets remained closed. The bandh began at 6 am.
"This is absolutely a normal Sunday. Schools, colleges, banks and other government offices are closed as other Sundays. That is why it is appearing to be like a bandh. Buses and other vehicles are plying like any other weekend. No untoward incident has been reported from anywhere in the district. There is no bandh here," Purulia District Magistrate (DM) Alokesh Prasad Roy told PTI.
The alleged killings have triggered another round of face-off between the TMC and the BJP, which has emerged as a formidable challenger to the ruling party in the state after last month's panchayat polls.
"Distressed to know about yet another killing of BJP karyakarta Dulal Kumar in Balrampur, West Bengal. This continued brutality and violence in the land of West Bengal is shameful and inhuman. Mamata Banerjee's govt has completely failed to maintain law and order in the state," BJP president Amit Shah had tweeted on Saturday.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar had also attacked the TMC government over the two deaths, saying, "This is inhuman and the worst kind of crime. We condemn the brutal political murders. The people of West Bengal will definitely teach a lesson to those behind the incidents."
TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee had said he suspected that the Bajrang Dal had a role in the incidents.
TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O' Brien had condemned the killings and demanded a detailed probe into those. He had, however, not ruled out the involvement of the “BJP, the Bajrang Dal or Maoists” in the incidents.
"We strongly condemn this despicable killing. All angles must be probed. The perpetrators of this heinous act must be punished. What role did Jharkhand border have to play? What elements of Bajrang Dal, Maoist or BJP involved. Let the truth be found out through proper investigation (sic)," he had tweeted yesterday after Kumar's body was found.
The West Bengal government has ordered a CID probe into Mahato's killing.
In Purulia, the BJP gave a tough fight to the ruling TMC in the panchayat polls and won 645 seats as against the latter's 839. Of the 38 zilla parishad seats, the TMC bagged 26 and the BJP nine.
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