A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was found dead under mysterious circumstances in West Bengal's Kolkata on Friday, 6 May, hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the city. The saffron party has alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is behind the death of the youth leader.
Condemning the incident, Amit Shah said:
"Today, Bharatiya Janata Party's leader Arjun Chowrasia has been murdered politically. The Trinamool government completed one year of its term in Bengal yesterday only. On the second day since, the system of political violence, political murders has again begun in the state. Opposition leaders are picked out and targeted, we have seen many examples across Bengal."
Shah met the kin of the deceased on Wednesday afternoon, and told reporters that Chowrasia's family, including his grandmother, had been beaten by the police while the latter snatched his body from them.
"We will ensure that the murderers of Chowrasia gets the strictest of punishment," he said.
"The BJP is fighting against this only. In Bengal, Opposition leaders' voices are crushed, violence and murders are used to scare dissenters – first under the Communist government, and now at a greater scale under the TMC government," the home minister said.
Shah reiterated the BJP's demand for a CBI inquiry into the matter, and indicated that the Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the West Bengal government in connection with the death.
The Alleged Murder
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Arjun Chowrasia was found dead in an abandoned building at the Ghosh Bagan area on Friday morning.
"Arjun Chowrasia, 27, BJYM Mondal Vice-President, North Kolkata was brutally slaughtered and hanged. This continuous slaying of opponent political workers highlights the demise of democracy in WB. 57 BJP workers were massacred in the last year. Humanity is smothered by the TMC!" the West Bengal unit of the BJP said.
The party further said that the celebrations scheduled to welcome Amit Shah to Kolkata had been cancelled in light of Chowrasia's death. Chowrasia was supposed to lead his mandal team in today’s bike rally to welcome Shah, as per a senior Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader.
"The death and murder of our committed karyakarta Arjun Chowrasia (27), resident of Kashipur Assembly, is deeply distressing. In view of the unfortunate killing, all celebrations to welcome Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah in Kolkata stand cancelled," the BJP said in a tweet.
The body of the deceased was recovered from the scene after 5 hours, as the BJP cadre had reportedly prevented the police from retrieving the corpse earlier. Chowrasia's mother has approached the Calcutta High Court, demanding that the post-mortem of her son be halted till a doctor from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) can be present.
Members of both the BJP and the TMC had gathered outside Chowrasia's home amid heightened tensions in the city.
The BJP has accused the TMC of violence against its members and supports at multiple occasions in the past. As recently as Thursday, Home Minister Shah had said, “There has been no let up in political violence, atrocities on BJP workers, corruption and cut-money culture (extortion) in the state" since the TMC won the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2021.
BJP Blames 'Mamata Didi's Goons' for the Death, TMC Denies
BJP leader Dilip Ghosh alleged that the purported murder was "pre-planned," and was meant to threaten party workers.
"This (BJYM worker's murder) is a pre-planned strategy to disturb and threaten our workers. Our worker Abhijit was killed on May 2 last year and 60 murders took place since then. Nobody has been punished, no chargesheet has been filed... It can't be solved without CBI," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"Deeply disturbed to know about the murder of our dedicated karyakarta Arjun Chowrasia (Age 27), a resident of Kashipur assembly, Kolkata. BJP Bengal firmly stand with his family. Democracy is dead here. When will CM Mamata's thirst for blood of BJP's karyakartas be over?" BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar wrote on Twitter.
Another BJYM leader tweeted, "Mamata Didi’s goons have given death penalty to the innocent Arjun Chowrasia just for being an active karyakarta of Bharatiya Janata Party. Feeling pained and devastated!"
Further, Asansol South BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul alleged that the 'murder' was significant as it coincided with Home Minister Shah's coming to West Bengal for the first time since the BJP lost the 2021 Assembly elections.
The TMC has denied the claims of its involvement in the alleged murder. “The allegations against us are baseless. Let the police investigate the matter,” party MP Santanu Sen was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
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