Tension In Bengal Village After BJP Worker Found Hanging

Tension has been reported from the Madnavati area of Malda district of West Bengal over the recovery of the body of a BJP worker.

The police say 62-year-old Buran Murmu's body was found hanging in his room, but locals in the area have protested, alleging it's a case of murder. Locals allege the door was locked from the outside, suggesting he was killed.

The issue has taken a political turn as Murmu used to live in the same house with his son Biplab and daughter-in-law Sharmila Murmu who was a Trinamool Congress candidate in the recently held panchayat polls. While the daughter-in-law Sharmila Murmu has been detained by the police, Buran Murmu's son Biplab is evading the police, according to sources.

Sharmila Murmu was a Trinamool candidate in the panchayat polls this time but lost to the BJP. Locals allege that the daughter-in-law Sharmila Murmu could not accept the defeat and conspired to kill Buran Murmu.

Villagers held up the police contingent that had arrived at the spot to remove the body from the home and send it for a postmortem examination, demanding that the accused Biplab Murmu be arrested first by the police. Officials from the Bamangola Police Station and central forces deployed for panchayat elections are at the spot.

BJP MP from Malda North Khagen Murmu alleged Buran's daughter-in-law had contested a gram panchayat seat on a Trinamool ticket but failed to win as the BJP won in the area, following which Buran was tortured by Trinamool supporters after results were declared on July 11.

The police have not commented on the nature of the death or the allegations, saying they will have to question the son and the daughter-in-law before they can conclude what exactly happened. A local Trinamool leader said only the postmortem report will establish the truth and the matter was not political but could be the result of a family feud.

The recently concluded panchayat polls in Bengal have seen widespread violence, with around 40 deaths since the declaration of elections.

While a political blame game is on over the violence, the Trinamool says more workers of their party have lost their lives, especially in areas where the Opposition candidates have won.

As the BJP blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress for the violence, the West Bengal Chief Minister on Wednesday said, "I am sad that some people have died in sporadic incidents. Look at the places where these incidents have taken place. Not just this time, but all the time, if you look at the history of the last 25 to 30 years, you will see there is violence in those spots only. In Domkal, there was violence, and our worker was killed. Who won? The Opposition. We did not win there. In Bhangar there was violence, who did it? Opposition party. We did not win; they snatched our seats. The election was held in 71,000 booths if you include Zilla Parishad including Darjeeling and Junglemahal. Everything included. The election has taken place in a total of 71,000 booths, and incidents have taken place in how many? Around 60 booths maximum?"

Mamata Banerjee's response came after a BJP fact-finding team led by Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that the Trinamool was responsible for the violence. Senior BJP leader and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "BJP had a clean sweep in Uttar Pradesh, but there were hardly any instances of violence across the state. Then why is this the case in West Bengal? Even yesterday, someone was killed during the counting of votes. The elected candidates were asked to join Trinamool or else they will not be given the certificate."