Tension gripped East Midnapore on Wednesday evening after the body of a BJP worker, Mahadeb Biswas, was discovered on the banks of the Haldi River. The incident comes just a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled public meeting in Haldia. The local BJP leadership has alleged that Mahadeb was murdered by TMC-backed goons as a “punishment” for putting up party flags and festoons for the PM’s rally.

Mahadeb, a resident of Banskhanda Jalpai village, had been missing since Tuesday evening. Local villagers spotted his body on Wednesday and alerted the Bhawanipur police. While the BJP claims this is a political murder, the TMC has rubbished the allegations, calling it “corpse politics” by the saffron party. Police have registered a case of unnatural death and moved the body for an autopsy at Haldia Sub-divisional Hospital to determine the exact cause of death. Investigating officers stated that no formal murder complaint has been lodged by the family yet.