Abhijit Mishra, a BJP Malda south organisational district committee member and lawyer based in Manikchak block of the district, lodged complaints with Manikchak police and district cyber crime police on Wednesday, alleging he received death threats over the phone on Monday night.
According to Mishra, the caller spoke in Hindi and issued death threats, allegedly taking the name of local Trinamool leader Niren Mahato while doing so.
Mishra claimed that a few months back he had been vocal against "corruption" in the state government's anti-erosion work at the Bhutni islet in Manikchak block, over which he had a confrontation with Mahato.
“While I was returning to Manikchak after court hours on Monday, I received multiple phone calls. When I answered one, the caller threatened to kill me. He took the name of Trinamool leader Niren Mahato with whom I had a confrontation earlier,” Mishra said.
Mishra alleged that during his protests against "irregularities" in the anti-erosion work, Mahato had chased and threatened him.
“I had lodged a complaint against him with Bhutni police in July. I do not know if Mahato himself called me up and issued the threat, but death threats cannot be ignored. I filed written complaints and expect the police to investigate the matter,” Mishra said.
Mahato denied any role in the alleged threats.
“We had a dispute a few months ago, but the matter ended there. I did not call Abhijit Mishra, nor asked anyone else to do so. I do not know why my name is being dragged into this now,” he said. “I want an impartial inquiry into his charges."
The police said a probe had begun to identify the caller.