Body of Mamata’s close associate recovered from Trinamool office

Police have recovered the hanging body of Ashis Banerjee, a former deputy speaker of the assembly and five-time MLA, from a Trinamool Congress office in Rampurhat, Birbhum district, West Bengal. The body was recovered on Sunday morning and sent for post-mortem examination. According to Indian media outlet NDTV, a handwritten note was also found at the scene.

According to preliminary information from the police, the note read, "No one is responsible for my death." The report stated that in the note, alongside expressing deep regret over entering politics, he urged his family members to stay away from politics. However, police have not yet officially confirmed the authenticity of the note.

In the note, he also denied allegations raised against him regarding the Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority (TRDA). He claimed that he had no decision-making power regarding tenders, signing checks, approving projects, or issuing "No Objection" certificates, and that he was never consulted on these matters.

Ashis Banerjee was known as a close associate of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. During the first term of the Trinamool government, he served as the Minister for Education and Agriculture and later became the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly. However, he was defeated by BJP candidate Dhruba Saha in this year's assembly elections. Last June, he had also resigned from the post of Chairman of the Birbhum District Core Committee.

Following the incident, Trinamool National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee criticized the long-standing smear campaign against Ashis in a post on X. He stated that everyone should introspect on the political culture of publicly humiliating a person before allegations are proven.

Police stated that an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of death, and further legal steps will be taken after receiving the post-mortem report.