Kolkata, Oct 12 (IANS): The body of Purnima Kandu, the Congress councillor from Ward number 12 of Jhalda Municipality in Purulia district of West Bengal, has been recovered from her residence at Jhalda.

She was found dead late on Friday night.

Purnima Kandu was the widow of Late Congress councillor Tapan Kandu, who was shot dead by unknown assailants on the open road in March 2022. Following her husband's death, she contested and got elected from the same ward.

As per the information available so far, Purnima Kandu was at her residence since Friday evening while her other family members went out on the occasion of the ongoing Durga Puja.

After they returned home late on Friday night, they saw their mother lying down and they thought she had somehow become unconscious. They immediately took her to the Jhalda block health centre where she was declared dead by the doctors.

The family members have claimed that when they went out of their residence on Friday evening, Purnima Kandu was absolutely normal. “She was not suffering from any kind of ailment. So we smell something unnatural in her death. However, the exact reason for the death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem report is available. Until then, no possibility can be ruled out,” said Congress’s Purulia district president Nepal Mahato.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted a probe into the murder of Tapan Kandu. Initially, a special investigation team (SIT) of Purulia district police started an investigation into the matter. However, the matter was later handed over to CBI.

A total of seven persons were arrested by the SIT of Purulia district police and CBI in the case. The first to be arrested was Tapan Kandu’s own nephew Deepak Kandu.

The trial process in the case has already started. In such a situation, the recovery of Purnima Kandu’s body under mysterious circumstances has created ripples in the political circles of the state.