An eye-witness in the murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu was found dead at his residence on April 6 in Jhalda town in West Bengal’s Purulia district. Niranjan Vaishnab was a witness to the shooting of Tapan Kandu on March 13 in Jhalda. The Calcutta High Court on April 4 had directed Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the murder.
Locals at Jhalda said Niranjan was under pressure. “A few days ago he told me that he was under stress because of the ongoing investigation,” said Mithun Kandu, nephew of Tapan Kandu.
Niranjan was found dead in his room on Wednesday morning. A suicide note was recovered from the house. The body has been sent for post-mortem.
Jhalda town, about 320km from Kolkata has been on the boil since the councillor’s murder. On Wednesday, Congress called a bandh in the Jhalda Muncipality to protest the formation of the civic board by the Trinamool Congress. The civic body had thrown up a hung verdict in the recently concluded civic polls, with five councillors each of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress getting elected to the 12 ward body. After the murder of the Congress councillor, the strength of the Congress dropped to four and the Trinamool Congress, with the support of an independent, formed the board on Tuesday.
Kolkata suicide prevention helpline : 2463 7401/2463 7432
