KOLKATA, JUNE 04,
Amid trading of allegations between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress over the death of another BJP worker in Purulia district of West Bengal, police officials said the post-mortem report had revealed it was a case of suicide.
Dulal Kumar (32) was found hanging from a high-tension power line at Dava village in Balarampur block. He is the second BJP worker in Purulia to have died in the past one week.
“A post-mortem was conducted by a board of five doctors and the report has revealed the cause of death. They have clearly stated that the death took place due to asphyxia, due to hanging ante-mortem (before death),” Akash Megharia, newly appointed Superintendent of Police (SP) of Purulia said on Sunday. The State government had transferred the previous SP, Joy Biswas, after the two deaths.
Within hours after the SP’s statement, Trinamool secretary-general and the State’s Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said, “It has become clear from the post-mortem report that Mr. Kumar committed suicide. Since BJP has no political agenda to speak of, they indulge in such slandering.”
State BJP vice-president Sayantan Basu said that his party would take legal recourse if the State government did not order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the two cases. Even as the State’s Criminal Investigation Department is yet to take over the two cases officially, it is assisting the district police in the investigation.
Amit Shah: TMC failed to maintain law and order
The incident has generated strong reaction from BJP national president Amit Shah who alleged in a social media post that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government “has completely failed to maintain law and order in the State.”
“Distressed to know about yet another killing of BJP Karyakarta Dulal Kumar in Balarampur, West Bengal. This continued brutality and violence in the land of West Bengal is shameful and inhuman,” tweeted Mr. Shah.
Denying the allegations TMC MP and spokesperson Derek O’ Brien said that all angles to the incident, including the involvement of Bajrang Dal, Maoists and BJP, must be probed.
“The perpetrators of the heinous act must be punished. What elements of Bajrang Dal, Maoist or BJP(are) involved. Let the truth be found out through proper investigation,” Mr. O’ Brien tweeted.
On Wednesday, the body of a BJP worker Trilochon Mahato (20) was found hanging from a tree in the Balarampur area with a note saying “punished for being associated with the BJP.”
