Cops to probe abetment angle in Asish Banerjee 'suicide’
Times of India | 18 August 2026
Rampurhat/Kolkata: A four-member state forensic team on Monday visited the residence of former Bengal minister and deputy speaker Asish Banerjee and collected physical samples as part of the investigation into his death.
Police recovered the 74-year-old’s body early Sunday from a ground-floor room at his residence, which also served as his party office. He was found hanging. An autopsy was conducted at Rampurhat Medical College before Banerjee’s last rites at the Tarapith crematorium. Hospital sources said autopsy surgeons informed police that preliminary findings pointed to suicide. A senior Bengal police officer said investigators would also ascertain whether there was any abetment. The room has been sealed to preserve the crime scene.
A BJP delegation, including Birbhum district president Uday Shankar Banerjee, Rampurhat MLA Dhruba Saha, Sainthia MLA Krishnakanta Saha and Mahila Morcha district chief Rashmi De, visited the family on Monday.
Saha, Banerjee’s former student who defeated him in the recent assembly elections, said, “Although Banerjee belonged to a different political party, he was our teacher and a five-time MLA.”
Meanwhile, Ritabrata Banerjee has written to CM Suvendu Adhikari, seeking a probe into tender allocations at the Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority and those who allegedly humiliated Banerjee after the election results.