TMC councillor found hanging at home in Kolkata, probe underway

The body of a 50-year-old TMC councillor of the South Dum Dum Municipality on the northern outskirts of Kolkata was found hanging in his room on Saturday, police said. Sanjay Das, the chairman-in-council of the civic body, who lived in the Nagerbazar area of north Kolkata, was taken to a local private hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Police said that prima facie it looked like a case of death by suicide, although no note confirming the nature of the incident could be recovered so far. A case of unnatural death has been registered at the local Nagerbazar police station. Das' body, police said, would be handed over to his family following the mandatory autopsy procedure. The incident left Das' followers and friends in a state of shock, many of whom were seen waiting outside the hospital premises after the body was brought there. Das, who represented ward number 18 of the municipality, is widely believed to have remained a close aide of Debraj Chakraborty, Bidhannagar TMC councillor and husband of former party MLA Aditi Munshi. On Friday, the couple had moved the Calcutta High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a disproportionate asset case filed by the Bidhannagar City Police. Previously, Chakraborty had been questioned by the CBI in connection with the alleged recruitment scam at the primary level in state-run schools. Several TMC councillors, believed to be close associates of Chakraborty, have been arrested over the past few days in cases involving extortion, assault and intimidation. Former TMC minister Sujit Bose was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 11 in connection with an alleged recruitment scam at the South Dum Dum Municipality and was slapped with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case. The former chairperson of the TMC-run civic body, Panchu Roy, has also been questioned by the ED in connection with the alleged irregularities in recruitment. Sources close to Das said he had been depressed for the past few days, but failed to pinpoint the reason behind the mental state of the deceased. Responding to the incident, BJP minister Agnimitra Paul said, "I have heard that the deceased was close to Debraj Chakraborty and headed the syndicates he ran. We don't wish for anybody's death. We have said that those in the TMC fold, who are apprehensive of public backlash, will be sent home with police protection. But we can't forgive those who played an active part in post-poll violence and tortured people during the erstwhile TMC rule in the state."