West Bengal: Temple purohit and BJP worker murdered while returning from Durga Puja, locals protest police inaction

Priest Supriyo Banerjee

The body of a priest who had gone missing on the Navami of the Durga puja was found from a pond in Bagdevi in Nadia, West Bengal. The body of Supriyo Banerjee, a purohit (priest) of a local temple by profession, was discovered in the early hours of Thursday. He was also a worker of the BJP.

https://twitter.com/BJP4Bengal/status/1182328322413326336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In a tweet posted by West Bengal BJP, the party claimed that it is the 8th murder of persons associated with the party in just the last 4 days in the state.

45 years old Banerjee was a resident of Bagdevi Tala under Shantipur Police station in Nadia district. According to reports, he had gone missing while returning home after completing the Navami rituals of the Durga Puja on Monday night. When his family members started searching for the next day, his scooter was found in the nearby village Laxminathpur. After talking to locals in the village, Banerjee’s relatives came to know that Supriyo Banerjee had verbal arguments with some people on Monday night.

After this, the family members lodged a missing complaint at the police station. But they allege that police took no action despite being told about the verbal spat the temple purohit had on the night he had gone missing.

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On Thursday morning, the body of the priest was found in a pond in his village. When police personnel from Shantipur police station came to retrieve the body, locals prevented them, demanding that the body should be moved without bringing sniffer dogs. Later the body was retrieved from the pond, but people in the area continued their protest demanding immediate arrest of perpetrators and an investigation using police dogs.

Police have detained 3 persons for questioning in regard to the case. Police have also revealed that Banerjee had withdrawn a large amount of money from his bank account just before Durga Puja, and is probing whether the murder is linked with that money.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia