KOLKATA: Just three days after a young BJP worker was found hanging from a tree in West Bengal's Purulia district, another 30 year old man's body was found dangling from a high tension electric tower in Dabha. The BJP has claimed that victim Dulal Kumar was a party member. His family alleges that Trinamool party workers killed him, dismissing any possibility of suicide. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered the state's highest probe agency, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate both the deaths- Dulal and Trilochan Mahato's.
Dulal went missing since 8 pm last week. His family said he had gone out on his motorcycle. When he didn't return home, they got worried and searched for him in the area. His cousin Rupchand Kumar said, “We started looking for him around 9 pm. When I called on his mobile phone, he picked up and disconnected the call.” They soon informed the police who found his motorcycle in the nearby fields. His body was found hanging from a high tension electric tower around 5.45 the next morning.
BJP leader Rahul Sinha said he was not just a BJP supporter, but also a full-time party worker who held a post in the panchayat. Party supporters soon protested, refused to allow police to bring the body down, and blocked the Balrampur-Baghmundi road. Sinha said that “West Bengal was under jungle raj” and only a “CBI investigation will lead to anything.” TMC leader Derek O'Briend demanded a thorough probe into the incident. He tweeted, “We strongly condemn this despicable killing. All angles must be probed. The perpetrators of this heinous act must be punished. What role did Jharkhand border have to play? What elements of Bajrang Dal, Maoist or BJP involved. Let the truth be found out through proper investigation.”
Prior to the death, 20 year old Mahato, another BJP worker was found hanging by a nylon rope from a tree near his home in Supurdih in Purulia's Balarampur block. A chilling message was found written on the back and front of his white T-shirt. “This is for doing BJP politics from age 18. Been trying to kiss you since the vote. Failed. Today you are dead.”
BJP national president Amit Shah tweeted that he was “deeply hurt by the brutal killings of our young karya karta. A young life full of possibilities was brutally taken out under state's patronage. He was hanged on a tree because his ideology differed from that of state sponsored goons.”
