The unnatural death of two persons, which police attributed to electrocution, in East Midnapore's Khejuri early on Saturday sparked a political war of words between the BJP and Trinamool, with the leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari claiming that the duo were killed because they were Hindus.
A police source said Sujit Das, 23, a resident of Purba-Bhanganmari village, and Sudhir Chandra Paik, 65, from Jhantihari village in Khejuri, had gone to watch a cultural programme, 'Dance Hungama', organised on the occasion of Muharram in Khejuri's Janka area.
Hundreds of people of both communities had assembled to witness the cultural event.
Denying any clash in the area, an eyewitness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said around 2.30am, several people got on to the stage and started to dance.
"In the onstage melee, an electrical wire got entangled in the feet of one of the villagers and it snapped. The live wire fell on Sujit and Sudhir, who were electrocuted. There was no incident of any attack on anyone," the eyewitness said.
Dibakar Das, the Contai subdivisional police officer (SDPO), echoed the eyewitness.
"Suddenly, a light fixture fell on them, and they came in contact with a live wire. The duo were electrocuted," SDPO Das said.
He said that no external injury marks were found on the deceased to suggest foul play.
"However, we have sent the two bodies to Tamralipta Medical College and Hospital for a post-mortem," Das added.
However, on getting the news of the unnatural deaths, Adhikari rushed to Khejuri and attempted to give the incident a communal angle.
"Two Hindu persons were killed in Murshidabad and now a similar incident has taken place in Khejuri. Police are being used to peddle a false narrative about the cause of death. There are injury marks on their necks. I demand a post-mortem at a centrally run government hospital. Following a call by various Hindu outfits, we will observe a strike in Khejuri on Monday," Adhikari said.
He named several Muslim organisers of the cultural event and demanded a thorough probe against them.
To protest against the death, BJP workers blocked NH116B, which connects Nandakumar to Digha at Heria, but they were later removed by the police.
Speaking to reporters, Sudhir's son Subhash Paik, who was not present at the cultural event, said: "Some people did tell me that my father was killed, but I do not know what caused his death."
Trinamool countered Adhikari’s claims, stating that his attempt to communalise the incident could disturb the harmony in an area where Hindus and Muslims have been living peacefully for years.
"Here, Hindus attend programmes organised during Muslim festivals, and the minority community participates in Hindu festivals. The duo died due to electrocution, but BJP leaders are trying to give it a communal colour," said Shyamal Mishra, a Trinamool district committee member.
Criticising the BJP’s attempt to communalise the incident, CPM leader in Khejuri, Himansu Das, said: The duo died due to electrocution. Unfortunately, the BJP is trying to communalise the incident by saying Hindus had been killed. This is a lie. People should be alert to the BJP's divisive ploy."
"However, I urge the police to be cautious in granting permissions for such events, especially where loudspeakers are played at extremely high volumes," Das said.