By PTI
KOLKATA: A four-member team has been constituted by the Kolkata Police to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of BJP youth wing activist Arjun Chaurasia, a senior officer said on Monday, three days after the saffron camp worker’s body was found hanging at an abandoned building in the city’s Kashipur area.
The team, comprising officers of the detective department and the local police station, is currently trying to examine Chaurasia’s cell phone.
“We are trying to unlock the phone and have sought help from his family members. Once the phone is unlocked, we will get several answers. We are also trying to get access to his email account,” he said.
The senior officer said that CCTV footages gathered from the area are being looked into.
“We cannot talk much about it for now as the investigation is at a very nascent stage,” he said.
Chaurasia’s family members, meanwhile, said they have received a notice from the police, asking them to meet the investigating officers but that would be possible only after Tuesday, once all funeral rituals have been performed.
His mother and brother had earlier claimed that Chaurasia was threatened of dire consequences by unknown miscreants, shortly before he went missing on Thursday night.
They, however, did not say why he was threatened.
The BJYM activist’s death had triggered protests in parts of the state, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Bengal on a two-day visit, calling for a CBI inquiry into the case.
The post-mortem was conducted at Eastern Command Hospital in Alipore, a defence healthcare facility, in accordance with the directions of the Calcutta High Court.
Meanwhile, BJP youth wing activists had been holding rallies over the past two days in various parts of the state over the unnatural death of one of Chaurasia, with the latest one being taken out by agitators on Sunday in Paschim Bardhaman district.
Led by Asansol South MLA Agnimitra Paul, BJYM supporters, numbering around 200, assembling outside a police outpost in Hirapur area and demanded immediate punishment for those responsible for Chaurasia’ death.
The protesters also sought a CBI probe into the incident.
“TMC goons had been carrying out attacks on BJP activists since the assembly poll results were declared on May 2 last year. Scores of our karyakartas (functionaries) were murdered. Our rally is against all these attacks. We will not rest till justice is meted out,” Paul said.
Similar rallies were taken out by the saffron party men in Siliguri and Balurghat areas of North Bengal on Saturday, with activists seeking an impartial probe.
Chaurasia was found hanging in an abandoned building in Kolkata’s Kashipur area on Friday morning, amid Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state.
Shah, after meeting the deceased BJYM member’s family, had slammed the TMC government for “unleashing a reign of terror” in the state.
He also called for a CBI probe into the case.
Meanwhile, TMC leader Joyprakash Majumdar alleged that there was a “possibility of evidence destruction by a section of BJP workers”, who were demonstrating in the area, where Chaurasia’s body was found “What made them hold on to his body for five hours, preventing the police to do their job. There seems to be some foul play involved. Chances are evidence was destroyed by the BJP workers,” he claimed.
In response, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said, “The post mortem report will shed light on the real circumstances that led to his death. The TMC cannot suppress the fact that around 50 of our workers and leaders were killed by its activists since the last assembly polls.”
He added that it was natural on the part of Chaurasia’s friends and party colleagues to hold spontaneous protests on finding him dead that morning.
a police officer on Sunday said that preliminary findings of the post-mortem examination indicated that he might not have been killed.
Speaking to PTI on the condition of anonymity, the officer also said that it did not seem that he was involved in any scuffle before his death.
“The post-mortem conducted on Arjun’s body does not suggest that he was murdered. There was no mark of any scuffle on the body. The final report is awaited,” the officer said.
Chaurasia was found hanging in an abandoned building in Kolkata’s Kashipur area on Friday morning, when Union Home Minister Amit Shah was in the state on a two-day visit.
His family claimed that a few unidentified people had threatened to kill Arjun, shortly before he went missing.
“We are looking into their allegations. There can be a link to some payments that Arjun owed. That can be a reason behind his death,” the officer added.
A section of BJP workers, along with Chaurasia’s father, had moved the Calcutta High Court, which ordered that the post-mortem be carried out at Eastern Command Hospital in Alipore, which is a defence healthcare facility.
Shah, after meeting the deceased BJYM member’s family, had slammed the TMC government for “unleashing a reign of terror” in the state.
He had called for a CBI probe into the case.
