Youth found hanging in Bengal, BJP blames Trinamool
Kolkata, June 2: A 32-year-old man was found hanging from a high-tension tower in Dabha village of West Bengal's Purulia district on Saturday morning, police said.
Claiming that the deceased was a prominent party worker, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the ruling Trinamool Congress for his killing and sought a CBI probe into it.
The BJP also demanded imposition of President's rule in the state, as its chief Amit Shah alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government had completely failed to maintain law and order.
The BJP chief wrote in Twitter: "This continued brutality and violence in the land of West Bengal is shameful and inhuman."
Dulal Kumar's death comes close on the heels of the murder of a BJP worker Trilochan Mahato in the Balarampur Police Station area.
The Trinamool has, however, denied its involvement in either of the incidents. The state government has handed over the probe to the Criminal Investigation Department.
"Last night, around 8.00 p.m, in Daba village under Balarampur Police Station, Kumar had gone towards a pond to respond to the nature's call. But since then he was missing.
"This morning, his body was found hanging from a tower," said Superintendent of Police Joy Biswas, claiming that preliminary investigation suggested it was a case of suicide.
"We have conducted a through probe and it seems to be a case of suicide. The body has been taken for post-mortem examination. Once autopsy is completed, we can say for sure exactly what happened to him," said the officer.
Following this statement, Biswas was transferred by the Mamata Banerjee government to the post of Commanding Officer of State Armed Police 9th Battalion and Akash Magharia was given charge as Purulia SP.
Biswas also said so far the police had not found any political angle in the case.
Disputing the police version, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said: "The way our leader Trilochan Mahato was hanged, Dulal has also been hanged at Balarampur. We condemn these incidents and demand CBI probe into both the killings."
Union Minister Babul Supriyo blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government for the "violent situation" in the state.
"The only medicine for the malady is invoking Article 356 in the state. How we can go about it, you will see in the coming days. You will see a very strong action soon."
Three days back, 20-year-old Mahato, who was missing since the night before, was found hanging from a tree, with a message scrawled on his T-shirt that read: "This is for doing BJP politics from age 18."
A poster found near his feet said: "Was trying to murder you since the (panchayat) vote. Today, you are dead."
The police officer said Mahato had gone missing after he went to the market and his body was found hanging from the tree the next morning.
"We have started a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The preliminary investigation shows there is an angle of personal enmity and personal grudge. We are conducting a thorough probe. The real culprit will be arrested as we get some evidence," he said.
Mahato's killing had triggered protests by the BJP, whose leaders pointed out that their party had thrown a strong challenge to the Trinamool during the panchayat polls in the district last month.
Denying his party's involvement, Trinamool leader Shantiram Mahato said: "The matter has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department. The probe will prove that we are in no way associated with the cases."
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
