Police probe ‘unnatural death’ at West Bengal BJP headquarter

KOLKATA: The Hastings police has lodged a case of unnatural death and started a probe into the death of a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha vice-president Raju Sarkar on Monday evening. The cops went to the BJP office at Hastings on Tuesday and checked the CCTV footage of the building, especially those near the room where the state committee meeting of the Morcha was being held.
The BJP, on the other hand, claimed that they are ready to cooperate with the police, but claimed that they will also seek the answer to the issue of “medical negligence” while treating a critical patient.
The cops also spoke to around a dozen of Sarkar’s colleagues. The Hastings OC also spoke to the building in charge about the incident. “We have, prima facie, not found any external injury marks on Sarkar’s body. No one has complained yet. We will ascertain our next step after receiving the post-mortem report,” said an officer investigating the case. The post-mortem was completed on Tuesday.
“Our doors are open to the police and they can question any one they want. The state government is now trying to find a mystery in his death. The mystery lies in the fact that SSKM Hospital did not admit a patient in such a critical condition,” Bengal BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said.

On Tuesday, investigating officers of the homicide wing of the Kolkata Police also went to talk to the doctors of the private hospital off EM Bypass to know details under which Sarkar was pronounced dead. The cops also wanted to know if Sarkar’s family had mentioned any long-term ailments. BJP sources on Tuesday claimed that Sarkar had an ischemic heart and was on medication for that. They also pointed that he led an irregular life despite being overweight.
“It seems he had left the meeting once as he didn’t feel well but returned after some time. It was at the end of the meeting towards evening when he really fell sick and sat on the stairs of the third floor,” said a source at Lalbazar.