A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth worker was found hanging inside an abandoned building ‘under mysterious circumstances’, sparking tensions in Kashipur area of north Kolkata in West Bengal Friday morning. Union home minister Amit Shah, who is on a two-day visit to West Bengal, is expected to visit the BJP worker’s residence today afternoon.
According to reports, the BJP has cancelled all celebrations over Shah’s arrival in the city. A senior BJP leader said Shah was upset after hearing the news and told them to ‘cancel his grand welcome at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport’ in Kolkata. The deceased was identified as Arjun Chowrasia, 26, a BJP Yuva Morcha activist. He was found hanging in Ghosh Bagan area of north Kolkata, police said, as quoted by news agency PTI. It is not clear as of yet if it is a case of suicide or a politically-driven murder.
Heavy security has been deployed in the area in anticipation of clashes between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Protests broke out near the site of the incident while locals and family members refused to hand over the body to the police for postmortem.
The BJP as well as the victim’s family members have alleged that he was murdered by the ruling TMC, which has denied the charge. He was allegedly receiving threats from the time TMC returned to power in May 2021 after the assembly elections. Police said no suicide note was found from the spot.
“He was an efficient party worker. We found him dead this morning,” said state BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.
