Purulia deaths: Breakdown of law and order in Bengal, says Amit Shah

State police say Purulia death is a case of suicide

BJP president Amit Shah. File

The CID is aiding in the investigation into the death of another BJP supporter whose body was found hanging in Purulia district of West Bengal on Saturday. A team has reached Purulia and is coordinating with the district police.

Superintendent of Police, Purulia, Joy Biswas, who was replaced with Akash Megharia, Special Superintendent of Police, CID, told

The Hindu earlier in the day that

prima facie , it appeared to be a case of suicide. More details would emerge after the post-mortem, he said.

On Wednesday, the body of Trilochan Mahato, 20, was found hanging from a tree in the Balarampur area with a note saying he had been “punished for being associated with the BJP”.

Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar, who was in Kolkata, said West Bengal was witnessing “political murders day in and day out”. He described it as the “worst kind of crime”.

Inhuman, says Shah

BJP president Amit Shah took to social media to allege that the Mamata Banerjee government “has completely failed to maintain law and order in the State”. “Distressed to know about yet another killing of BJP karyakarta Dulal Kumar in Balrampur, West Bengal. This continued brutality and violence in the land of West Bengal is shameful and inhuman,” Mr. Shah tweeted.

The State BJP leadership took out rallies in Kolkata and called a 12-hour bandh in Purulia on June 3. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the deaths.

Expressing their condolences, Trinamool Congress leaders said a thorough probe would bring out the complete picture.

Party MP and spokesperson Derek O’ Brien said all angles must be probed. “The perpetrators of the heinous act must be punished. What elements of Bajrang Dal, Maoist or BJP (are) involved. Let the truth be found out through proper investigation,” he tweeted.

Senior party leader Partha Chatterjee said the role of “ people who are bringing outsiders from Jharkhand and colluding with Maoists should also be probed”.

The National Human Rights Commission ( NHRC) on Friday evening took suo motu cognisance of the death of Trilochan Mahato.

“The right to life of the poor Dalit victim has been grossly violated, which is a glaring instance of the failure of the law-enforcing agencies to protect the precious human life,” the NHRC press release stated.