Case filed over death of sadhu in Bengal’s Birbhum; BJP-TMC in war of words

According to police, Mondal left home 10 years ago and settled as an ascetic at Behira Kali temple in Purandarpur. Police said his body was discovered by locals, and that it has been sent for a post-mortem. Police are also investigating a purported suicide note they have recovered.

Bhuban’s brother Chandan Mondal has named three people in his complaint alleging murder. This includes a member of the temple committee, police said.

“A case under IPC section 302 has been lodged on the basis of a complaint received from the brother of the deceased,” Birbhum Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee said.

He said they are awaiting the post-mortem report and police have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari alleged it was a political murder. “I’ve been receiving hundreds of calls of Hindu Monks & Spiritual Gurus from across WB; who are distraught with the painful news of the unnatural death of Aghori panth Sadhu; Shri Bhuban Baba, whose body was found outside the Behira Kali Mandir; in Purandarpur; Birbhum district,” he tweeted.

“I would like to request @chief_west Shri H. K. Dwivedi (IAS) & DGP of @WBPolice Shri Manoj Malaviya (IPS) to ensure that proper investigation is done in this matter. The post mortem should be videographed & conducted in presence of an Executive Magistrate. If this is a crime, the perpetrators should be nabbed as early as possible,” he added.

BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted: “While Mamata Banerjee delivers a provocative communal speech to a Muslim gathering on Eid, urging them to fight imaginary ghosts, an Aghori panth sadhu has been murdered and hung outside Behira Kali Mandir in Birbhum. TMC leaders are involved in the crime…Another day in Bengal.”

State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar also claimed the “killers are from TMC”.

The TMC meanwhile slammed the BJP for playing politics over the dead. Its Rajya Sabha member Santanu Sen said, “It is the BJP’s practice to indulge in violence whenever an unnatural death takes place. They are doing the politics of vultures. Let me remind you, in May 2022, the body of a BJP worker, Arjun Chaurasia, was found hanging in Kolkata’s Cossipore area. Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the site and demanded a CBI Investigation. He had similarly alleged that it was a political murder. However, post-mortem report confirmed that Chaurasia died by suicide. This is nothing new. It is just another way to play politics over dead bodies.”