Trinamool Congress activist found dead in West Bengal's Bhangar; family blames BJP, but police say no proof of murder

Kolkata: A Trinamool Congress (TMC) activist was found dead in Bhangar in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Sunday. He was reported missing since Saturday night, the police said. [caption id=“attachment_1527769” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] While the relative of the deceased claimed that the activist for the state ruling party was killed by Opposition party workers, the police said they have not found any proof of murder. “The body of Shibu Debnath, a Trinamool Congress worker was found in a pond near his house in Bhangar’s Saitgachi on Sunday morning. There are no injury marks on the deceased’s body,” a senior officer from the Bhangar Police Station said. “We have got the news that the man was drunk. He consumed alcohol thrice on Saturday. The body has been sent for autopsy to find out how he died. No proof of him being murdered has been found yet,” he said. Debnath’s family members accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers of kidnapping and killing him. “He suddenly went missing yesterday (on Saturday). We guess that he was kidnapped and murdered by some BJP workers as he supported the Trinamool Congress,” a relative claimed. Villages in Bhangar have witnessed a massive unrest over the construction of a power grid in the area for the past year. There have been violent clashes between anti-power grid agitators and TMC workers several times, including at the time of the state rural polls in May.