BJP Workers Call 12-Hour Bandh After Booth Leader Found Dead In Bengal, Party Blames TMC

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari demanded a CBI probe into the incident while Medinipur MP, Dilip Ghosh alleged that TMC has increased its atrocities on party workers affiliated to opposition parties

The Bharatiya Janata Party workers on Wednesday called a 12-hour bandh following the death of a booth-level leader in Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district as it alleged the Trinamool Congress of murdering the worker. As per a report by news agency PTI, BJP booth president of Moyna, Bijaykrishna Bhunia, was reportedly beaten up by "TMC goons" in front of his wife on his way back home on Monday evening and was forcibly taken away by them in a motorbike, the saffron party claimed.

On Wednesday, Calcutta High Court ordered a second post-mortem for Bhunia to be conducted at Command Hospital and a medical board to be constituted to oversee the process. The family of the deceased is to be provided central security cover for the next four weeks, the court ordered further. 

Moyna is considered a backyard of Adhikari, and the saffron camp has considerable influence. Former cricketer and BJP leader Ashok Dinda is MLA from the area.

"Today is the second anniversary of the post-poll violence that started in the state in 2021 on May 2 after TMC came to power. The killing of BJP leader Bijay Krishna Bhunia is a gift to the state's people to mark this anniversary," BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said, demanding a CBI probe in the incident. 

With an injury mark on the head, Bhunia’s body was found on Monday late at night at a distance from his residence, the police said.

"We are investigating the incident," a police officer said, reported the news agency.

BJP national vice-president and Medinipur MP, Dilip Ghosh, alleged that TMC had increased its "atrocities" on party workers affiliated to opposition parties in the area to create an "environment of terror" to win the panchayat elections in the state, which were slated later this month.

Meanwhile, TMC dismissed the claim saying the incident resulted from a family dispute. 

"As far as we know, this is an outcome of a family dispute. The allegations against us are baseless. We, too, want the culprits to be arrested," former TMC MLA of Moyna, Sangram Dolui, said.

Echoing him, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the BJP is trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state.