Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former West Bengal assembly deputy speaker Asish Banerjee was found dead at a party office on Sunday in a suspected case of suicide, triggering a political blame game in the state.
“It seems Banerjee died by suicide. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the letter. The Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority (TRDA) is a West Bengal government body responsible for development and planning in the Tarapith-Rampurhat area of Birbhum district. The BJP has alleged corruption and irregularities in the authority, including in connection with sand tenders. Leaders from across parties called for a probe into the incident, with former chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC accusing the state’s ruling BJP of systematically vilifying Banerjee. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari dismissed the allegation that Banerjee was under corruption scanner. “No case was registered against him and he was never sent any notice by the police. It is possible that corrupt people in the TMC might have threatened him, saying they would take his name if there was a probe… After all, he had distanced himself from the Mamata faction of the TMC. He added that the police will also examine the veracity of the purported suicide note.
The 75-year-old Banerjee, a five-time MLA and a former state minister, visited the TMC office next to his Rampurhat residence in the morning, his relatives said. To be sure, it did not specifically target Banerjee, who served as the body’s chairman from 2016 to 2026. On June 22, he attended a meeting of rebel TMC MLAs but was not seen at any other meeting of the camp after that.
When he failed to respond to repeated calls, his family alerted the police, officials said. A note, apparently written by Banerjee on his letterhead, says he was never involved in any corruption and that efforts were being made to tarnish his image,” a police officer aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity. District police superintendent Vidit Raj Bhundesh said no FIR has been registered over the allegations nor a formal complaint was received so far. The BJP and the rival Ritabrata Banerjee-led TMC faction, however, accused “corrupt” TMC leaders of threatening him. Once among Mamata Banerjee’s close associates, Banerjee had distanced himself from her after his defeat in the recent state polls, people aware of the matter said. In June, he stepped down as TMC Birbhum district president but said he would remain a member of the party. Call records should be examined,” Adhikari said. West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition Ritabrata said that many innocent workers and leaders in TMC were forced to bear the consequences of the corruption and “legal mistakes” committed by a handful of people in the party.
