Three persons were arrested in connection with the death of a woman in Contai in Purba Medinipur district on Tuesday even as the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) held protests across West Bengal condemning the incident.
“We have received the post-mortem report and there is no mention of any violence or injury mark on the victim’s body. The death was a case of hanging,” District Superintendent of Police Sukesh Jain told The Hindu on Tuesday.
The police suspect it to be a case of suicide and the accused have been arrested for abetment to suicide. There have been conflicting claims made by the victims’ family members. While the husband of the woman, a local CPI-M member, alleged that his wife was raped and killed, the brother- in-law in the police complaint has claimed that the victim committed suicide.
However, the family members have emphasised that the woman was threatened by local All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) supporters.
CPI (M) leader and State Committee member Tapas Sinha, who met the family members, accused the police of “acting as per the instructions of the AITC. He also alleged that about “12 local AITC leaders gang raped the victim and then murdered her.”
Senior CPI (M) leader and the party’s State secretariat member Rabin Deb accused the police of trying to shield the accused in the case. “Even though some persons have been arrested in relation to the case, the main accused are still at large,” he said. The Left Front supporters will lay siege to the office of District Superintendent of Police on Thursday, he added.
