Trinamool worker found dead in Kushmandi

BALURGHAT: Tension gripped Kushmandi's Maligaon area on Saturday morning after the body of a local TMC worker was found around 5 km away from his residence by the locals. Murder is being suspected.

The deceased TMC worker has been identified as Harihar Das (50), a resident of Panchhata. Police have initiated an investigation. No arrests have been made so far.

Das had gone missing since Friday afternoon. As he had not returned till late in the evening, his family members initiated a search operation but in vain.

In the morning, the locals discovered his body lying beside a pond with traces of rampant beating on the head. The stick was also found beside the body. Police rushed to the spot after being intimated and faced public demonstration as he was a popular face of the party there.

Police, however, managed to recover his body after positive assurances. Later it was sent for postmortem to Balurghat district hospital.

A local, named Bachchu Das, said: "I discovered the body in the morning while crossing the field. I screamed for help. The locals from adjacent areas rushed in and later we informed the police and Das' family members. His body was lying beside a pond with deep head injury, probably from a bamboo stick, that was left next to him and had dry traces of blood."

Locals and Das' family members demanded immediate arrests of the culprits.

Local Trinamool leader and karmadhakshya of South Dinajpur Zilla Parishad, Shyamal Saha said: "Harihar Das was an active Trinamool worker and a popular face of the area. He had close association with the party workers and locals. He also had a lot of responsibilities for the upcoming polls. The locals want quick action and have also demonstrated before the police regarding the same." A large contingent of police force has been deployed in the area to maintain the law and order situation.