West Bengal: Local BJP leader found dead inside party office in South 24 Parganas, woman arrested
The deceased, Prithviraj Naskar, used to handle the social media account of the party in the district.
BJP leader found dead: Days after a local BJP leader went missing, the police recovered his body from inside the party office Usthi in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, an officer said on Saturday. The deceased, Prithviraj Naskar, was responsible for managing the party's social media account in the district.
According to the police, the blood-soaked body of Naskar was discovered at the party office on Friday night. His family members said he had been missing since November 5.
BJP accuses TMC of killing
Meanwhile, the BJP accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of the killing, however, the police arrested a woman in connection with the case, stating that the reason for the murder could be personal. A senior police officer stated that the arrested woman admitted to hitting the deceased with sharp weapons, leading to his death.
"We are exploring the angle of the deceased having been involved in a relationship and any quarrel with the arrested person," he told reporters.
The officer said that a police team forced open the front door and an inner collapsible gate, both locked from the inside, before discovering the body in the party office. It is suspected that the assailant escaped through a rear door.
Following a preliminary investigation and tracking of mobile phones, the woman was picked up from a nearby locality and during interrogation, she confessed that she committed the crime, the officer said. It was being investigated if she was aided and abetted by anyone else, he said.
BJP and TMC engaged in war of words
The BJP and TMC were engaged in a war of words following the murder. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar told reporters that local TMC activists were behind the murder of Naskar as they wanted to frighten the saffron party's supporters in the area.
In a post on X, Majumdar said, “Our fight will continue until justice is served and the killers of martyr Prithviraj brought to light. BJP remains resolute in ending the bloodthirsty and oppressive rule of CM Mamata Banerjee in Bengal.”
The BJP state unit alleged in another X post that the party’s district social media convenor was abducted, tortured and murdered by TMC goons. “The police ignored his family’s desperate pleas for help,” it claimed.
Senior TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh claimed that the BJP knows the exact reason behind Naskar’s death but peddles falsehoods implicating the TMC. Ghosh claimed in an X post that there are reports about the deceased having personal enmity with more than one person.
What did victim's father say?
The TMC leader claimed that injuries on certain parts of the victim's body indicated animosity and contempt from the attacker. He expressed hope that the investigation would explore all these aspects thoroughly.
Naskar's father claimed that his son had angered some local TMC activists and the police by displaying placards demanding justice for the R G Kar hospital victim during the recent Durga Puja festival in the area. "My son was warned of dire consequences by local TMC leaders for organising protests on the R G Kar issue during the festive season," the father said.
(With PTI inputs)
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