BJP man killed in Malda, glare on TMC

Malda: The recovery of a mutilated body of a BJP worker, who was missing since Sunday, sparked off major tension at Kamlabari in the English Bazaar police station area of Malda late on Tuesday. While BJP leaders claimed Asit Singh (62) was murdered by Trinamool-backed goons, no arrest has been made as yet. Trinamool leaders too claimed that the party was not involved in any way.
Singh’s family said he was an active BJP worker and had left home on Sunday to work as a labourer in a mango orchard. His job was to pluck mangoes. His family launched a search after he failed to return home.
Around 11pm on Tuesday, a group of villagers returning from an event spotted a charred body near the village pump house. It was identified as that of Singh. Prima facie, it seems Singh was murdered and his body mutilated with acid so as to hide his identity. A police team from English Bazaar took the body away for post-mortem around 1am.
Singh’s son Jayanta told police that several people had taken his father away on Sunday. He named two of them and said they were the prime accused. On Wednesday morning, district BJP leaders reached the village. “Singh has been an active party worker. He was earlier threatened by Trinamool goons and now they have murdered him. This is an attempt by Trinamool to unleash terror in this minority-dominated area. We demand immediate arrest of the prime accused who are known Trinamool activists,” said BJP’s Malda district president Sanjit Mishra.
English Bazaar MLA and Trinamool leader Nihar Ghosh denied all this. “Trinamool had nothing to do with the killing. A proper inquiry would reveal everything. So far as I know, Singh fell prey to a kangaroo court ruling over the theft of goats,” he said.
District SP Alok Rajoria said probe has started and the post-mortem report will make things clearer.