Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader in West Bengal Debendra Nath Ray was found hanging near his home in Hemtabad area of North Dinajpur district on Monday morning, police sources said. The state BJP alleged foul play saying that he was ‘killed and then hung’

“Ray was found hanging near a shop at Hemtabad area this (Monday) morning. We have started an investigation,” news agency PTI quoted a senior district police officer as saying.

Ray had contested and won the Hemtabad assembly segment — a reserved seat for Scheduled Castes — on a CPI(M) ticket but had switched over to the BJP last year after the Lok Sabha polls.

“Body of Shri Debendra Nath Ray, BJP MLA from Hemtabad, a reserved seat, in Uttar Dinajpur, was found hanging like this in Bindal, near his village home. People are of the clear opinion that he was first killed and then hung. His crime? He joined the BJP in 2019,” said West Bengal BJP in a tweet.