A 25-year-old BJP worker from a village under Dalkhola police station of North Dinajpur district was found dead and hanging at a deserted place near his home on Monday morning.

His family members and local BJP leaders accused some Trinamul supporters of killing him and then hanging the body, charges that Trinamul leaders have denied. Police have started a probe.

Sources said Satyajit Singha, the deceased, went missing on Sunday night from his home in Sitaidighi village. His body, hanging from a tree some 200 metres from home, was spotted on Monday morning by some residents.

Satyajit’s mother Jayanti Rani Singha said she last spoke to him on phone briefly around 9pm on Sunday when he said he was being detained.

She said their entire family supported the BJP and her son was an active party worker.

“A few days back, some local Trinamul supporters had threatened him and had asked him not to participate in BJP's political activities. On Sunday afternoon, my son went to the local market on an errand and did not return home. I tried him on his phone after a couple of hours but found it switched off. Around 9pm, I could contact him. He could only tell me that some people had detained him, and then, I suspect, his phone was snatched. He did not return home at night, and today (Monday), we found him dead. I suspect some Trinamul supporters have killed and hanged him to make it look like suicide,” the mother added.

Satyajit, she said, used to run a grocery shop.

As the news of his death spread, BJP leaders and supporters who went to the spot pointed out injuries on the youth’s head, limbs and torso.

“Trinamul has resorted to this tactic across the state. They are killing our men and hanging them,” said Biswajit Lahiri, the North Dinajpur district BJP president.

Trinamul denied the charges. “We suspect suicide. It has become a trend of BJP to accuse us falsely. The police should probe and find out the truth,” said Sandip Biswas, district spokesperson of Trinamul.

A police team spoke with Satyajit’s kin and neighbours. “We are waiting for the post-mortem report to know the exact cause of death,” said a Dalkhola police officer.

Last year, the BJP had raised a similar allegation after Debendranath Roy, their MLA from Hemtabad in the same district, was found dead and hanging near his house. The party has fielded his wife Chandima Roy from the seat.