The body of BJP youth leader Arjun Chowrasia underwent post-mortem on Saturday at the Command Hospital in Alipore before it was handed over to his family and party colleagues.
Chowrasia, 27, the vice president of the BJP Yuva Morcha of Cossipore, Belgachia Mandal-1, was found hanging inside an abandoned Cossipore railway colony quarters on Friday morning, triggering allegations that he had been first killed and then hanged.
The body that was kept at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital overnight was shifted to Command Hospital early on Saturday following an order by Calcutta High Court to carry out the inquest at Command Hospital.
Apart from the autopsy surgeons at the Command Hospital, senior officers of Calcutta police were also present during the inquest that was videographed.
“The inquest started at 8.45am and finished around 1.30pm,” said a source in the hospital.
Chowrasia’s family had alleged on Friday that he had been killed and hanged by local Trinamul supporters.
The fact that Chowrasia’s feet were partially touching the ground when people spotted the body triggered allegations of foul play.
Police said they were probing the allegations.
“We are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain if the death was homicidal,” said an officer in Lalbazar.
A team of officers of the homicide wing of the detective department visited the spot where Chowrasia was found hanging, and examined the spot with a three-dimensional (3-D) scanner.
“A 3-D scanner collects pictorial evidence from a spot from multiple directions making it easier for investigators to reconstruct the crime scene,” said an officer in Lalbazar.
Investigators collected a map of the area to check the possible entry and exit points of the building.
“It is important to examine all finer points including the height of the boundary wall and possible entry and exit points to assess the circumstances under which the incident happened,” said an officer.
Chowrasia’s body, after his post-mortem, was sent back to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital before it was handed over to his family members.
Once the body was released, the BJP leadership took the body to the state BJP party office at Muralidhar Sen Lane in central Calcutta. There, the BJP’s state president Sukanta Majumdar and other party leaders paid their last respects to the deceased.
Finally, in the evening, the body was taken to Chowrasia’s home in Cossipore, accompanied by the BJP leaders.
The saffron leadership also went to the Nimtala burning ghat for the last rites of Chowrasia.
BJP worker death
Another BJP worker, Debasish Manna, 22, was found hanging from a tree near his house at Khejuri in East Midnapore. The local saffron leadership accused Trinamul for the death. Police sources said that Manna might have committed suicide. “The family has not lodged a complaint yet. We will investigate if we receive a formal complaint,” a police source said.