An 11-year-old schoolgirl of Bagjaan in Maynaguri block died of electrocution while plucking flowers from the home of a Trinamul panchayat member on Monday, the incident sparking tension in the area.

Furious residents ransacked the home of the panchayat member Asit Chandra and cremated the girl’s mortal remains on the premises of the house. Police have arrested Chandra and started a probe.

Sources said Chandana Roy, a class V student of Singimari High School in Maynaguri, daughter of tea plantation worker Ratna and migrant worker in Kerala Sushil, had gone to Chandra’s house to pluck flowers where she touched a live wire and fainted.

Residents rushed her to the rural hospital in Maynaguri where doctors pronounced her dead.

Mother Ratna alleged that the panchayat member had earlier asserted before villagers that he had laid electric wires to prevent people from plucking flowers from his garden.

“We did not think what he said was true. I lost my daughter because of him. How can he put live wires in such a manner, knowing well that it can be fatal?” she asked.

Angry villagers in hundreds ransacked Chandra’s house. The panchayat member tried to escape but was intercepted. Police also arrested Chandra.

Chandra initially denied his involvement.

Residents, however, did not let the police vehicle leave and demanded a written undertaking from Chandra. After about an hour, Chandra apologised for the incident and villagers let the police take him away.

Later, Chandana’s body reached the village after autopsy, villagers blocked NH-31 that connects Maynaguri with Malbazar, demanding exemplary punishment for Chandra.

The villagers then took the girl’s body to Chandra’s home and cremated it on the campus in front of the police.

On Tuesday too, the area simmered with tension. Policemen were posted at the ransacked house and elsewhere in the village.

The incident also acquired political overtones. A delegation of the BJP led by district president Bapi Goswami met the girl’s family and held a protest rally in Maynaguri, demanding stringent legal steps against Chandra.

“We want punishment for the accused. Our party will give all possible help to the girl’s family,” said Goswami.

Manoj Roy, a Trinamul leader, said: “It is unfortunate and the law will take its own course. But the way in which the girl’s body was cremated in front of the house was inappropriate.”

Vikramjit Lama, DSP (crime), Jalpaiguri, said a probe had started.