Dulal Kumar, the 30-year-old man found hanging from a high tension electric tower in Purulia district’s Dabha village yesterday, had committed suicide, say cops. Considering the volatile political situation, the post mortem was done on an urgent basis and the cause of death was found to be suicide, sources said. A detailed report is still awaited.
The cause of Trilochan Mahato’s death however, has not yet been established. Purulia has been on the boil for the past few days due to the death of the two young men, both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers.
Around 5.30 on Saturday morning, the body of 30 year old Dulal Kumar was found hanging from a high tension tower in Dabha village. BJP said Dulal was a party worker while the ruling Trinamool Congress denied this. Dulal’s family members — his mother and wife — insisted that Trinamool Congress men had been threatening him for sometime.
Earlier this week, a 20-year old BJP worker, Trilochan Mahato, was found hanging from a tree near his Balarampur home, also in Purulia district. A chilling “message” was found written on his shirt – that he was being killed for working with the BJP.
Dulal had apparently left home riding his two-wheeler on Friday evening and didn’t return home. A search was on, but he wasn’t found. On Saturday morning, his bike was found parked in the fields, and soon his body was located. Police had a hard time when they reached the spot — villagers initially prevented them from going near the body. Villagers also blocked the road for sometime.
These two deaths – both in Purulia – within a span of a few days, has made the political situation tense in the state. Both the cases were handed over to the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for probe. Purulia was already on the edge due to the death of Trilochan Mahato.
Earlier, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien had tweeted: “We strongly condemn this despicable killing. All angles must be probed. The perpetrators of this heinous act must be punished. What role did Jharkhand border have to play? What elements of Bajrang Dal, Maoist or BJP involved. Let the truth be found out through proper investigation.”
A couple of days ago, BJP President Amit Shah had tweeted, “Deeply hurt by the brutal killing of our young karyakarta, Trilochan Mahato in Balarampur, West Bengal. A young life full of possibilities was brutally taken out under state’s patronage. He was hanged on a tree just because his ideology differed from that of state sponsored goons.”
In another tweet he wrote: “The present TMC govt in West Bengal has surpassed the violent legacy of Communist rule. Entire BJP mourns this tragic loss & stands firmly with Trilochan Mahato’s family in this hour of grief. His sacrifice for organisation & ideology will not go in vain. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.”
The state BJP has demanded CBI probe into Trilochan Mahato’s death.
The BJP is fast emerging as the state’s main opposition party. In most byelections that took place over the past two years, the BJP has gained votes, leaving the CPI(M) way behind. The BJP’s power is evident even from the results of the recent rural polls, where they performed better than the Left parties.
Amit Shah’s saying that Trilochan Mahato’s death took place under the “state’s patronage” and Derek O’Brien’s tweet asking for probe into the roles of the BJP, Bajrang Dal indicates how the BJP and the Trinamool Congress are on a collision course. Again.