The body of a man was found hanging in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) booth office in Siliguri on Thursday.
The incident which happened in Siliguri Municipal Corporation Ward Number 36 triggered alarm ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the country.
The deceased, indentified as 42-year-old Nitya Mandal, was a labourer.
According to reports, locals spotted his body hanging from the booth office early in the morning. The police has sent the body for post-mortem and launched an investigation.
Mandal’s wife, Rina, told ANI that he had no enmity with anyone.
“He had no fight or enmity with anyone. He had been unwell. I don’t know if it is a murder or suicide,” she was quoted as saying by ANI.
The incident happened just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mammoth rally in the constituency, where polling is scheduled to be held in the second phase of General Elections on 18 April.
In June 2018, a BJP worker Dulal Kumar was found hanging from a power transmission tower in West Bengal Purulia. The party as well as the parents of the deceased had then accused the TMC for having a role in the death of the man.
Read More | BJP worker’s killing in West Bengal: Family rejects suicide claim, says TMC men killed Dulal Kumar
In July 2018, 45-year-old Shaktipada Sardar, the BJP Mandal committee of Mandirbazar-Dhanurhat area in West Bengal’s Diamond Harbour, was hacked to death by miscreants. The BJP claimed that the killing was orchestrated by goons belonging to ruling TMC.
Read More: Bengal BJP accuses TMC of killing party leader in Mandirbazar
Two people were arrested by the police but the authorities didn’t confirm the involvement of any political party.
Addressing a mega political gathering on Wednesday, the PM launched a scathing attack on Mamata Banerjee over a host of issues including alleged lack of development, perpetuating family rule and for seeking proof of IAF’s retributive strike on terror camps in Pakistan to avenge Pulwama killing of 40 CRPF troopers.
He called Banerjee a “speed-breaker” in the path of West Bengal’s development.
Read More | Didi is speed-breaker on path of your development: PM Modi in Bengal’s Siliguri
“There is a speed-breaker in West Bengal which you know by the name of ‘Didi’. This ‘Didi’ is the speed-breaker in your development,” Modi said, as the sea of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters cheered in support.
Reacting to his charge, Banerjee called the PM “expiry babu” at a rally in north Bengal’s Dinhata in Cooch Behar district and challenged him to a “direct debate” on TV or at a public rally.