The West Bengal government on Tuesday made the details of post-mortem of deceased MLA Debendra Nath Roy public, giving hints that prima facie the death appears to be a case of suicide. West Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay spoke to journalists at the State Secretariat saying that the government would take the probe in the matter to its logical end.
He added that the Criminal Investigation Department of West Bengal police had been entrusted responsibility to investigate the matter. “Death was due to effects of hanging as noted above, ante-mortem in nature,” the Home Secretary quoted from the post- mortem report.
A political furore had erupted over the death of the Hemtabad MLA whose body was found in front of a mobile phone shop about 1 km from his home on Monday.
The MLA contested the 2016 Assembly polls as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate and later joined the BJP.
The BJP leadership, including State president Dilip Ghosh, alleged that the MLA was killed. The Trinamool Congress leadership quoting the post-mortem report said that the “BJP was jumping to conclusions without facts”.
In Delhi, a BJP delegation led by Kailash Vijayvargiya met President Ram Nath Kovind raising the issue of law and order situation in West Bengal. The BJP leadership has been demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the death.
Mixed response to bandh
Stray incidents of violence were reported in north Bengal as BJP supporters tried to enforce a 12-hour bandh in north Bengal in protest against the death of the MLA. There was a mixed response to the bandh. Buses were vandalised in Cooch Behar district while shops and other commercial establishments remained shut in most districts of north Bengal. At various places, BJP supporters hit the streets trying to enforce the bandh. The police detained hundreds of BJP supporters and had to resort to baton charge to control the situation in certain areas.
Kolkata Suicide Help Line: 033-2463 7401/033-2463 7432
