Death of BJP Worker: New Row between BJP and TMC as Amit Shah Visited West Bengal
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 6: The death of a BJP worker, ostensibly by hanging, on Friday has become the latest flashpoint in the running political battle between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the principal opposition the BJP and TMC in West Bengal.
The visiting union home minister Amit Shah, who himself is the political boss of the Central Bureau of Investigation, “demanded” a CBI probe into the alleged “murder” of the BJP worker who was to lead a bike rally to welcome Shah in Kolkata on Friday, while the Calcutta High Court at the demand of the BJP ordered post-mortem of the body at the Command Hospital under the court supervision.
Shah also visited the grieving family of the deceased BJP worker Arjun Chowrasia and joined the chorus with the state BJP accusing the TMC to be behind the “murder” while other BJP leaders said such “cold-blooded” political murder of the BJP workers by the TMC in West Bengal was nothing new. The TMC, however, has vociferously denied having any hand behind the death of Arjun even if it was a murder.
The 27-year old Arjun was found hanging from the ceiling in an abandoned building near his home in Ghosh Bagan in Chitpur-Kashipur area in North Kolkata on Friday morning. Amit Shah has now sought for a report from the Mamata Banerjee government and called for CBI probe into Chowrasia’s death. BJP has claimed that Arjun was murdered by the TMC and later hanged his body from the ceiling. A BJP worker close to Arjun who was a witness before the body was removed from the rope, claimed, “This was definitely murder. He was hanged after the murder. His legs were touching the floor.” Chowrasia was to lead the bike rally to welcome Shah which was cancelled at the behest of the union minister following the report of his death.
North Kolkata district BJP President Kalyan Chaubey said Chowrasia was an active karyakarta and the vice-president of BJP’s youth wing in Kolkata. “He was very very efficient and we planned last night that he would lead a 200-member bike rally to welcome Home Minister Amit Shah to Kolkata. We found him dead this morning in a building at the Ghosh Bagan railway yard,” Chaubey said.
The BJP alleged that he was murdered by workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress. Refuting the charge, TMC MP Santanu Sen said: “The allegations are baseless. Let the police investigate the matter.” The police said an investigation into the incident has been launched.
Shah on a two-day visit to West Bengal a year after the party’s rout in the hands of the TMC in the state Assembly elections last year, told reporters, “We will ensure that those behind murder of BJYM leader Arjun Chowrasia are punished. Shah visited Chowrasia’s home after news broke that the worker had been found hanging in an abandoned building in the area in mysterious circumstances. Shah said a culture of violence and a fear psychosis was prevalent in Bengal.
The BJP leader who had crossed swords with the chief minister Mamata Banerjee last year during a campaign for the elections to the state assembly, said the BJP party would demand the strictest punishment from the courts of law for whoever is guilty of the gruesome crime.
“Yesterday TMC government completed one year of its term. Today political murders have started in the state. BJP condemns the murder of Arjun Chowrasia. I met the grieving family, his grandmother was also beaten. BJP demands CBI inquiry into the incident,” the Union Home Minister said.
He also added that Home Ministry is taking serious note of Chowrasia’s death and has sought a report on it. The home minister also said Chowrasia’s family had complained that his body had been taken away forcibly. The TMC meanwhile claimed Chowrasia was associated with the party and not the BJP.
Earlier in the day, police removed protesters from the spot in Kashipur where Arjun was found dead. The protesters were allegedly not allowing the body to be removed for post-mortem.
The Calcutta High Court on being approached by the BJP in its order on Friday said the post-mortem of Arjun Chowrasia would be conducted at the Command Hospital under the supervision of the court. A bench led by Justice Prakash Shrivastava directed that the chief medical officer of the Command Hospital in Alipore would form a team of specialists to conduct a post-mortem which would also be videographed in the presence of the Chief Judicial Magistrate of South 24 Parganas district.
It further guided the Commissioner of Kolkata Police to guarantee that the body is securely taken to the Command Hospital, implied for treating defence personnel, from the state-run RG Kar Hospital in the northern area of the city. The bench additionally guided the police chief to guarantee the security of Chowrasia’s family. It said that the matter would be taken up for hearing again on Tuesday.
BJP leader and legal counselor Priyanka Tibrewal moved the court on behalf of Chowrasia’s mom, asserting that the unnatural demise was associated with the violence in the state, following the 2021 assembly polls. The mother of the deceased BJP worker approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a stay order on the autopsy of Chowrasia. In her petition, she has sought the formation of a special team headed by any doctor from AIIMS to conduct an autopsy. She also said there was no trust in the state police. Her application was accepted by the Calcutta High Court.
