The body of a 33-year-old BJP worker was found hanging from a tree in Dnarka village of Birbhum district Sunday night.
The deceased, identified as Tapas Bagdi, had gone missing the same afternoon. His relatives have lodged a police complaint demanding probe into the case. Bagdi had left home to take a bath in the nearby pond but did not return, police said. “Prima facie, the death was due to hanging, (injuries are)ante-mortem in nature,” Kunal Agarwal, superintendent of police, told The Indian Express.
A senior district police official on condition of anonymity said, “Prima facie, it looks like a case of suicide. We have received a complaint and are looking into it.” Sources said a case of unnatural death has been registered by the police.
BJP leaders claimed that it was a rerun of Purulia incident where the body of their party worker was found hanging from a tree in June. The saffron party had alleged that goons backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) were behind the alleged murder.
“Bagdi was our booth committee member. We believe he was also murdered and hung from the tree,” said BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu. Refuting all allegations, TMC’s district president Anubrata Mondal said, “TMC is not involved in this case. It is a clear case of suicide and the BJP is unnecessarily trying to give it a political colour.”