Kolkata, Nov 9: The body of a BJP leader was found inside the party office at Usthi in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, a police officer said on Saturday.

The deceased, Prithviraj Naskar, used to handle the social media account of the party in the district.

The BJP pointed an accusing finger at the TMC, while the police, after arresting a woman in connection with the killing, said the reason for the murder could be personal.

Naskar’s blood-soaked body was discovered at the party office on Friday night. His family members said he had been missing since November 5.

A senior police officer said the arrested woman confessed to having hit the deceased with sharp weapons resulting in his death.

"We are exploring the angle of the deceased having been involved in a relationship and any quarrel with the arrested person," he told reporters.

The officer said a police team broke open the front door and a collapsible gate locked from inside of the party office before finding the body. The suspected assailant must have escaped through a rear door.

Following a preliminary investigation and tracking of mobile phones, the woman was picked up from a nearby locality and during interrogation, she confessed that she committed the crime, the officer said.

It was being investigated if she was aided and abetted by anyone else, he said.

The BJP and TMC were engaged in a war of words following the murder.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar told reporters that local TMC activists were behind the murder of Naskar as they wanted to frighten the saffron party's supporters in the area.

In a post on X, Majumdar said, “Our fight will continue until justice is served and the killers of martyr Prithviraj brought to light. BJP remains resolute in ending the bloodthirsty and oppressive rule of CM Mamata Banerjee in Bengal.”

The BJP state unit alleged in another X post that the party’s district social media convenor was abducted, tortured and murdered by TMC goons.

“The police ignored his family’s desperate pleas for help,” it claimed.

Senior TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh claimed that the BJP knows the exact reason behind Naskar’s death but peddles falsehoods implicating the TMC.

Ghosh claimed in an X post that there are reports about the deceased having personal enmity with more than one person.

The injury in some parts of his body showed animosity and contempt of the assailant towards the man, the TMC leader claimed, expressing hope that the investigation would cover all these angles.

Meanwhile, Naskar's father claimed that his son had earned the wrath of some local TMC activists and the police after putting up placards demanding justice for the R G Kar hospital victim during the recent Durga Puja festival in the area.

"My son was warned of dire consequences by local TMC leaders for organising protests on the R G Kar issue during the festive season," the father said.

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Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.

The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.

On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."

His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.

In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”

Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”

Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.

After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.

“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.

“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”

Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.

Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay. 

Chaotic end to a poor season

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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.

It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.

Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.

Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.