Life on Sunday was partially affected in West Bengal’s Purulia district due to a 12-hour strike called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after two of their party workers were allegedly murdered within a span of three days.
The body of 32-year-old Dulal Kumar was found hanging from a high-tension tower in Dabha village on Saturday morning.
Claiming that the victim was a prominent party worker, the BJP accused the ruling Trinamool Congress for the murder and sought a CBI probe into it.
Another body of a 20-year-old BJP worker named Trilochan Mahato was also found hanging from a tree in Balarampur arear of the same district last week with a message inscribed on the back of his T-shirt, accusing him of supporting the BJP.
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.
“Law and order situation has been under control. The strike has affected the life partially,” a police official of Balrampur police station said.
Most shops remained shut. Private transports were not seen on the roads while state-owned transports were spotted running on the roads.
Twin killings caused tension in the Balrampur area and also in the district and the West Bengal BJP had held demonstrations protesting against the killing of their youth activists.
The BJP also demanded imposition of President’s rule in the state, as party chief Amit Shah alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government had completely failed to maintain law and order.
Purulia S.P. Joy Biswas on Saturday claimed that preliminary investigation suggested the death of Kumar was a case of suicide.
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.