Beldanga violence pre-planned, suicide projected as murder to incite unrest: BJP
Kolkata: The BJP on Saturday alleged that the recent violence in Beldanga, a minority-dominated area in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, was provoked in a pre-planned manner by falsely portraying the suicide of a local migrant worker in neighbouring Jharkhand as a case of murder.
BJP IT Cell chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, cited the post-mortem report of Alauddin Sheikh, furnished by Jharkhand Police, to assert that the death was conclusively established as suicide.
According to Malviya, the violence that continued in Beldanga for two consecutive days was triggered by the aggressive spread of unverified claims alleging murder, without waiting for factual confirmation.
“The unrest followed the unnatural death of migrant labourer Alauddin Sheikh in Jharkhand. Without waiting for facts, a claim of murder was aggressively pushed, triggering violence and intimidation,” Malviya said in a statement posted on his official social media handle on Saturday.
Quoting the post-mortem findings, Malviya said the report clearly mentioned the cause of death as ante-mortem hanging and noted the absence of any ante-mortem injuries, abrasions, bruises, fractures, or signs of assault.
He added that the findings were officially confirmed by Palamu district Superintendent of Police Reshma Ramesan and were also reported by local media in Jharkhand.
“Importantly, the deceased’s family expressed satisfaction with the Jharkhand Police investigation after receiving the body. Yet, despite clear medical and investigative evidence, the state allowed a coercive narrative to dominate the streets, effectively holding Beldanga hostage,” Malviya alleged.
The BJP leader further claimed that none of the deceased’s fellow migrant workers in Jharkhand had alleged any murder conspiracy in statements recorded by a special team from the Beldanga Police Station, which had travelled to Palamu as part of the probe.
“Kasim Shaikh, who brought the body back, did not allege foul play. Ersad Shaikh, the cousin of the deceased, also mentioned no indication of murder. The family was kept informed throughout the process, including via video calls. The post-mortem and inquest reports conclusively ruled out assault,” Malviya said.
Raising a series of questions, Malviya alleged political motives behind the unrest. “Who engineered the rumour that spread faster than verified facts? Who benefited from blocking highways and railway lines? Why was mob violence allowed to dictate the narrative before forensic truth emerged? Why were journalists attacked with impunity, and why was the administration missing in action for hours?” he asked.
“The answers lie in sinister vote-bank politics,” Malviya added.