'TMC's corrupt elements might have threatened him': CM Suvendu after ex-deputy speaker found hanging
Times of India | 16 August 2026
KOLKATA: Hours after former Assembly Deputy Speaker Ashis Banerjee was found hanging at a Trinamool Congress (TMC) office, West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said corrupt elements within the opposition party might have threatened him, according to PTI.
CM Adhikari said investigators would examine a purported suicide note recovered from the party office. The note, written on Banerjee’s former MLA letterhead, reportedly said that nobody was responsible for his death and expressed regret over his decision to enter politics.
Former West Bengal Assembly Deputy Speaker and five-time MLA Ashis Banerjee, 74, was found hanging at the party office near his residence in Hattala Para in Rampurhat. He is survived by his wife and son.
Banerjee had stepped down as chairman of the TMC’s Birbhum district core committee in June, weeks after the party lost the Assembly elections. He subsequently lost the Rampurhat seat to BJP candidate Dhruba Saha.
Before entering politics, Banerjee worked as a professor at Rampurhat College. During his political career, he served as Deputy Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly and held portfolios including AYUSH and Agriculture.
The circumstances surrounding his death have triggered political reactions, with TMC leaders calling for an impartial probe. Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam described Banerjee as one of the most honest and highly educated people in Birbhum and said the allegations mentioned in the purported note should be investigated.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh also questioned the circumstances of Banerjee’s death and urged the police and administration to conduct a thorough investigation. He alleged that Banerjee had faced political pressure and harassment in the days before his death.
Ghosh further claimed that some people who had moved towards the BJP to avoid corruption-related investigations had pressured Banerjee to remain with them. He said investigators should establish whether the death was a suicide or involved any other circumstances.
The investigation is continuing, and police are yet to establish the circumstances leading to his death.