Kolkata, May 6 (UNI) Calling it a “political murder”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of West Bengal BJP worker Arjun Chaurasia, whose body was found hanging in north Kolkata's Kashipur.

 Late in the evening, the Calcutta High Court ruled that Chaurasia's autopsy be done at the Command Hospital (Army) in the city and directed that the process be video-graphed. Shah, now on a trip to the eastern state, rushed to meet Chaurasia's bereaved family, and pledged that stringent punishment would be meted out to the “guilty”, while accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress of targeting political opponents. Affirming that the BJP would stand with the victim's family “like a rock”, Shah disclosed that his ministry has sought a report from the state on the incident. “Home Ministry has taken serious cognizance of the incident and has sought a report from the West Bengal government,” the minister, considered the second most powerful man in the central government, told the media after coming out of Chaurasia's house.

Twenty-seven-year-old Arjun Chaurasia, who the BJP claimed was its youth wing leader in Kashipur, was found hanging at an abandoned railway quarter in Ghoshpara, near his home early on Friday. The BJP also claimed that he was slated to lead a bike rally to welcome Shah. Stating that a “culture of violence and fear psychosis were prevalent in Bengal”, Shah said: “Yesterday (Thursday), the (third) Trinamool Congress government completed one year of its term. Today, the tradition of political violence and political murders in West Bengal have started again. “The BJP condemns the murder of Arjun Chowrasia. I met the grieving family. His grandmother was also beaten up. There should be CBI inquiry into the incident.” "We will ensure that the murderers of Chowrasia gets the strictest of punishment," he added.

The home minister also said Chowrasia's family had complained that his body had been taken away forcibly. Trinamool Congress leader Atin Ghosh, meanwhile, claimed that Chaurasia was their worker and had actively worked for the party during the civic poll. Shah said Chaurasia's family alleged he had been brutally murdered. "Throughout Bengal, wherever we go, there are several examples of political violence, revenge murders, and targeting of workers of opposition parties," he said. Shah said the BJP is fighting and would continue to fight the “politics of violence” unleashed by the Trinamool. "I want to tell the people of Bengal, the BJP is fighting against this. In Bengal, suppressing of the voices of opposition, intimidating them with violence is nothing new. Earlier it used to happen under the Communist rule, now the legacy continues only with more fervour under Trinamool Congress' rule," he said. He also slammed the police and authorities over the scuffle that happened when Chaurasia's body was taken away just ahead of his arrival, and said the post mortem should be camera-monitored.

"I met the victim's family... Chaurasia's grandmother was also beaten up. Chaurasia's dead body was snatched away from the family. BJP workers have gone to court to demand a post-mortem of the body on camera,” he said, before the high court gave its order. A Special Task Force of Kolkata Police took away Chaurasia's body around 12-50 PM for post-mortem in the state-owned R G Kar Hospital after a tug of war between the cops and BJP activists. BJP leaders claimed the bereaved family had urged the police to wait till Shah's arrival, but the request went unheeded. BJP's lawyer Priyanka Tibrewal took the victim's mother to the Calcutta High Court for moving an appeal seeking suspension of the post-mortem, fearing pieces of evidence could be tampered with. "There have been many murders after (last year's assembly) election.Yesterday after one year, they are giving out the message that they will not stop. While the BJP does not believe in the politics of violence, it is also not scared of it. We will ensure in the court of law that the murderers are punished," Shah said. He alleged that Trinamool was trying to create an atmosphere of fear. According to Chaurasia's family, he had gone out after returning from work on Thursday and did not return. The family also claimed he has been receiving threats since May 2, 2021. BJP National Vice-president and former state party chief Dilip Ghosh alleged that Chaurasia was hung after being murdered.