KOLKATA — The husband of a Trinamool Congress panchayat member was found murdered in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Sunday, police said. The Trinamool Congress alleged that workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) beat him to death, a charge the saffron party has denied.
According to police, the body of the Trinamool leader was recovered from behind the Trinamool party office on Sunday morning. He had gone missing on Saturday. Police said there are multiple injury marks on the body, and a club was also recovered from the scene.
According to police, the name of the deceased Trinamool leader is Sahadev Bagh. He is a resident of the Kota area of Nakunda in Goghat. The deceased’s wife, China Bagh, is a Trinamool Congress member of Kunda Panchayat. The family alleged that BJP workers have been threatening to take Sahadev away since the declaration of the West Bengal Assembly election results.
Sahadev went missing after leaving his house on Saturday night. Local residents found his body lying in a drain behind the Trinamool party office on Sunday morning.
China Bagh, the wife of the deceased Trinamool leader, said, “BJP workers have been threatening him since the party won the elections. They took him away and killed him. I want punishment for all those who are responsible for his death.”
The deceased’s daughter, Agamoni Bagh, said, “My father was associated. Ever since the party lost the elections, the BJP workers have been threatening us. They killed my father.”
Local Trinamool leader Shashank Dhak said, “We last saw Sahadev yesterday afternoon. Since then, we have not heard from him. This morning, a woman told us that someone’s body was lying in the drain. At first, we could not identify it. Later, we realised that Sahadev had been murdered. BJP people did this.”
However, the BJP has denied the murder charge. Local BJP leader Dolan Das said, “BJP does not do the politics of violence. They are themselves responsible for this and are blaming the BJP. Since the election results were announced, arrangements are being made to ensure peace in the area on the instructions of our state president, Samik Bhattacharya. I have resolved the problems in the few places where there were troubles. Let the police investigate the incident. Punish whoever is involved.”
The police have sent the body for a post-mortem examination. – IANS
