Cooch Behar, April 24: A Congress candidate was found dead in his room in Barokodali gram panchayat of Tufanganj this morning.

Hossain Ali’s son alleged that his father was killed by the CPM.

Ali (52) had retired to bed last night after campaigning in Mansai village, about 35km from here.

Cooch Behar police superintendent Anil Kumar said the cause of death could not be immediately ascertained, but a case of unnatural death had been registered by Baxirhat police.

“A plot was hatched by the CPM to murder my father. Assailants, who entered the room through a gap in the tin roof, smothered him with pillows. I felt something amiss yesterday when Subodh Sarkar, the CPM panchayat pradhan, called me on the mobile phone to know if my father was all right,” said Mobarak Ali.

Sarkar, however, said it was unfortunate that his name was being linked to Hossain’s death. “I had called Mobarak to know if a vehicle was available to take a patient to hospital. I rang him up again to inform that a car had been arranged,” said Sarkar.

Of the 13 seats in the gram panchayat, eight are with the CPM.