Shah demands CBI probe into party worker’s death
KOLKATA: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday blamed West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for the death of a 26-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker in Kolkata, and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged murder.
Shah, who visited the deceased youth wing leader Arjun Chowrasia’s family, said the Union home ministry took serious note of the incident and sought a report from the state government,
“Yesterday, the TMC government completed one year of its term. Today, political murders have started in the state. The BJP condemns the murder of Chowrasia. I met the grieving family. His grandmother was also beaten. The BJP demands CBI inquiry into the incident,” Shah told reporters in Kolkata. TMC won the Bengal elections last year, defeating BJP after a fiercely fought campaign.
Shah arrived in the city hours before Chowrasia was found dead. “This is a conspiracy and an attempt to create an atmosphere of terror. A culture of violence and fear psychosis is prevalent in Bengal,” he said. The home minister also said Chowrasia’s family complained that his body was taken away forcibly.
Chowrasia, a member of BJP’s youth wing, was found dead in an abandoned building near his home in north Kolkata. He was slated to lead a bike rally to welcome Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Bengal, his first since his party’s loss in last year’s election.
The home minister said the BJP has moved court seeking videography of Chowrasia’s postmortem examination. “The case should be handed over to CBI. Probably, in no other state, so many cases have been handed over to CBI in less than a year. This proves courts have no faith in the police and the state administration,” Shah said. He added that the BJP will ensure the guilty get the strictest punishment.
The Calcutta high court, hearing a public interest litigation, ordered that the post-mortem examination of Chowrasia be conducted at the Command Hospital in Kolkata in the presence of the chief judicial magistrate of South 24-Parganas. The court also ordered videography of the examination.
BJP leaders said Chowrasia was busy preparing for a rally to welcome Shah till last evening. “When he did not return home late in the night, my brother went to the local police station around 2am. The police did nothing to trace him... around 7am, his body was found. It was only then that the police came,” said Sunita, Chowrasia’s sister.
Chowrasia’s body was found hanging in an abandoned railway quarter 100 metres from his home. BJP leaders and his family alleged he was murdered and then hanged. “Over the last three to four days, he was very scared. We have no faith in the police. We want a CBI probe .... My brother can’t die by suicide,” Sunita said.
BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya called Chowrasia a long-term BJP worker. “He had to stay away from home for around a week after the assembly election results were declared on May 2 last year following threats from the TMC,” said Bhattacharya.
The TMC said Chowrasia was a worker of the ruling party. “The BJP is telling lies. Chowrasia, even though not too active, worked for local TMC ward councillor Suman Singh during the civic polls. The BJP would be unable to show any documents to show he was their worker. Chowrasia’s father was a Congress worker and he had died by suicide too,” said TMC lawmaker Atin Ghosh.
Shah quoted Chowrasia’s family saying the police snatched the body and that his grandmother was “beaten up”. “The family is pained... Instead of arresting the murderers, police thrashed the family members,” said Shah. A police officer said an investigation is going on and that they have not found any suicide note.