Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, May 10: The body of a man was found in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Sunday, with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) claiming that the deceased was a party panchayat member and alleging that the number of post-poll violence deaths of its workers in the state has risen to six.

Sharing a photograph of the blood-stained body on social media, the TMC identified the deceased as Sahadeb Bag, a member of Nokunda gram panchayat under Goghat 1 block.

A police officer said Bag’s body was found lying in a field on Sunday morning. Police are investigating whether the murder was linked to personal enmity or rivalry over project tenders.

“Based on the complaint lodged by his family, we are investigating all angles, including political aspects,” the officer said.

The Goghat unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party denied involvement of any of its workers and claimed Bag might have been killed due to personal rivalry or factional feud within his own party.

Meanwhile, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that more than 60 shops were set on fire by “BJP-backed miscreants” in Khejuri area of Purba Medinipur district, describing the incident as “barbaric”.

A police officer from Purba Medinipur said forces were rushed to the spot and fire brigade personnel extinguished the flames that broke out on Saturday night.

“We are investigating the incident,” the officer said.

The TMC claimed that six of its workers had been killed in post-poll violence so far. Apart from Sahadeb Bag, the party named the deceased as Tapas Naskar from Entally, Abir Sheikh from Nanoor in Birbhum, Biswajit Pattanaik from Beleghata, Pinku Debnath from Purbasthali Dakshin in Purba Bardhaman, and Mithun Samanta from Kulpi in South 24 Parganas.

However, a police officer said only three deaths — that of Abir Sheikh and BJP workers Madhu Mondal and Jadav Kar — had been confirmed to be linked to post-poll violence. The remaining deaths were yet to be established as post-poll murders, the officer added.

Banerjee further alleged that shops and properties belonging to TMC supporters in Khejuri, a TMC stronghold in Purba Medinipur, were targeted in arson attacks.

Sharing photographs on social media, he wrote, “Is this how you plan to drive ‘Bhoi’ out? By setting Bengal on fire?”

Referring to the BJP’s “Bhoy Noy Bhorsa” campaign slogan, Banerjee alleged that the violence was a deliberate attack on Bengal’s communal harmony and democratic fabric.

“What unfolded in Khejuri’s Nichkasba GP, Hijli Sharif is nothing short of barbaric. Over 60 shops were torched by BJP-backed miscreants, destroying the livelihoods of innocent people overnight. Hindu-owned shops, Muslim-owned shops, it made no difference,” he alleged.