An 18-year-old, purportedly a BJP worker, was found dead in Balarampur, West Bengal, on 30 May 2018. While the victim’s identity couldn’t be independently verified, BJP President Amit Shah posted a tweet claiming that the victim’s name was “Trilochan Mahato,” and that he was a BJP karyakarta.
In his tweets, Shah said the life of young BJP worker, Trilochan Mahato, was "taken under the state's patronage" because his ideology was different from that of "state-sponsored goons".
The 18-year-old’s body was allegedly found with a note that read, “Associating with the BJP from the age of 18 is the reason for your death. I wanted to do this (kill you) since the elections, but I failed. Today, your life ends.”
The youth had gone to a place barely three km from his village last evening and did not return home. He had called up his brother in the night and said that he was kidnapped and urged to be rescued, he said.
"We were informed by his family (about it) but despite searches throughout the night we could not spot him," a senior district police officer said.
Shah, however, alleged that the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal was behind the death, stating that the TMC had "surpassed the violent legacy of the communist rule,” as he lamented the death of the suspected BJP worker.
The West Bengal BJP’s state unit also tweeted about the 18-year-old’s death, stating that “West Bengal is converted into cremation ground”
BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya claimed that 18 party workers have been killed in the state and alleged that it was at the behest of the state government.
The party's national secretary Rahul Sinha told reporters in Kolkata that the youth was associated with the party and asked, "Is it democracy where a young man is being killed just because he was associated with the BJP?"
Training his gun at the TMC, he said BJP cadre are being attacked and killed as the saffron party fared well in Purulia in the recent panchayat election in the state.
"The TMC wants to eliminate all signs of opposition from the areas where BJP has won (in the rural poll)", Sinha said.
TMC Denies Allegations
The Trinamool Congress termed the allegations as baseless and concocted.
"The allegations against TMC are completely baseless," a senior district TMC leader said.
In Purulia, the TMC and the BJP had a close fight in the gram panchayats winning 839 and 645 seats respectively. Out of the 38 Zilla Parishad seats, TMC had won 26 seats and BJP nine seats.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)