A BJP leader was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the party’s makeshift office in South 24-Parganas district on Friday night, four days after he had gone missing.

The BJP alleged that the Trinamool Congress had orchestrated the murder of Prithviraj Naskar, social media convener of the BJP’s Mathurapur organisational district.

The TMC said Naskar’s death was the fallout of factionalism in the BJP.

Naskar’s body was found in the BJP’s makeshift office at Dwiper More under the jurisdiction of Usti police station in Diamond Harbour police district.

“After attending the bhaiphonta ceremony at his home on Sunday, he had gone out on Monday night but didn’t return. We tried to reach him on his three phones, but those kept only ringing. On Wednesday, we lodged a missing complaint at Usti police station and his body was recovered last night,” Naskar’s father Amarendra said.

According to the police, the blood-splattered body had multiple injury marks and has been sent for postmortem.

“We will be able to say the exact cause and time of the death after we get the autopsy report. We have traced Naskar’s call details which show he was in touch with two persons after he left his home on Monday night. We are interrogating the duo to find out whether they have any relation with the death,” a senior officer of Usti police station said.

However, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, who spoke to Naskar’s brother on Saturday, said he had been killed and blamed Trinamool for it.

“Another horrific tragedy in West Bengal as BJP’s Mathurapur District SM Convener, Prithviraj Naskar, is abducted, tortured, and murdered by Mamata Banerjee’s TMC goons. This barbaric regime stops at nothing to silence opposition through terror, bloodshed, and brutality. Mamata Banerjee has turned Bengal into a lawless, blood-soaked dictatorship,” Majumdar wrote on his X handle.

Majumdar said although the BJP leader had gone missing on Monday night, the police couldn’t trace him. “This is sheer callousness of the police. We are trying to get the postmortem conducted at a central government hospital and ensure proper investigation,” the state BJP chief told journalists.

Rejecting Majumdar’s charges, the TMC said Nasakr was a victim of the BJP’s internal conflict and factionalism.

Trinamool leaders said the BJP was unnecessarily trying to drag the TMC into Naskar’s death to hide factionalism in the saffron camp.

“Everyone knows about the bitter factional problemin the BJP’s Mathurapur organisational district. One group is allegiant to the district BJP president, Nabendu Sundar Naskar, while the rival faction is loyal to former president Pradyut Vaidya.We don’t have anything to do with the murder. Police are investigating it and the truth will emerge,” a seniorTrinamool leader inUsti said.

The TMC leader said BJP workers loyal to Vaidya had protested at the state BJP office in Salt Lake in August, claiming Nabendu did not enjoy support within the saffron camp.