Bengal BJP Leader Found Hanging At His Home, Party Blames Trinamool

The body of a local BJP leader, who was allegedly missing for the past three-four days, was found hanging in his residence at Balpai village in Paschim Medinipur district this morning, police said.

The leader has been identified as BJP booth president Dipak Samanta, a police official said. 

"We have found Dipak Samanta hanging from the ceiling of his village residence at Sabang. He is attached to a political party. We are investigating the matter and have no clue whether this is a suicide or murder case. Police are yet to arrest anyone and the body has been sent for post-mortem," he told PTI over the phone. 

Senior BJP leader from Ghatal, Tanmay Das, alleged that Samanta has been "missing" for the past three-four days and was found hanging from the ceiling of his residence on Thursday morning by his family members.

"Trinamool Congress has been putting pressure on Dipak to join it before the July 8 panchayat election... He and his family had gone to the police but they were not heard," he told PTI.

Mr Das also alleged that Samanta had recently received a white saree and white flowers, which is equivalent to death threats. He had approached the police, who refused to take his complaint.

White sarees are traditionally worn by widows and sending one to someone is taken to be an indication that his wife will soon become a widow.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar blamed the Trinamool Congress for Samanta's death and said the party will not keep quiet if such violence against it continues. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)