Bengal BJP MLA found hanging near his home

A West Bengal MLA was found dead under mysterious circumstances near his home in North Dinajpur district on Monday, an incident his family and the BJP claimed was a cold-blooded murder, and blamed the ruling TMC for it.

The body of Debendra Nath Ray,(60), was found hanging from the ceiling of a verandah outside a shuttered shop near his home in Bindal village in Hemtabad area of the district, police said.

West Bengal police said a suicide note was found from his shirt pocket where he blamed two people for his death.

Ray had won the Hemtabad (reserved) seat on a CPI-M ticket in 2016 but later joined the BJP. He had, however, not quit his assembly seat.

Ray was found hanging from a ceiling outside a closed shop in the morning. Investigation has started. A forensic team has reached the spot and his body sent for postmortem, a senior district police official said.

The BJP leader’s family has demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident, saying they suspected he was murdered.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh demanded that Banerjee, who holds the home portfolio, issue a statement on the cold-blooded murder.

Police, however, insisted prima facie it was a case of death by suicide. It said a tracker dog has been pressed into service and forensic experts are on the job. Postmortem is yet to be done.