The death of a young nurse, who had recently joined a private nursing home in Hooghly’s Singur, has triggered unrest, with BJP and CPM workers clashing with police, accusing the cops of sending the body to Calcutta for a postmortem in an attempt to hide the real cause of her death.

According to sources, the nurse, a resident of East Midnapore, had recently completed her education and joined the Singur nursing home just three days ago.

The nurse’s father said the nursing home authorities informed him on Wednesday that his daughter had committed suicide inside the medical facility.

“However, when we reached the nursing home, we did not find my daughter’s body. They claimed the police had taken it to the hospital. Why was the body moved before her family arrived?” he asked.

The police had shifted the body to Serampore Walsh Hospital in Hooghly for a postmortem. However, the family demanded that the post-mortem be conducted at a central government hospital instead.

The father also lodged a murder complaint regarding his daughter’s death.

Hooghly Rural Police arrested Radha Gobina Ghatan, the nurse’s alleged boyfriend, from East Midnapore. They also detained the owner of the nursing home.

“Preliminary investigation suggests it was a case of suicide and that there were relationship issues. However, after the father complained, we registered a murder case and began a probe,” said a senior Hooghly police officer.

BJP and CPM workers gathered at the Hooghly hospital and protested against the police decision to send the body to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. Supporters of both political parties clashed with police when they tried to block the vehicle carrying the body to Calcutta.

“Police immediately claimed the girl had committed suicide. She had been studying in a southern state for the past three years. Interestingly, she did not commit suicide there, but allegedly did so within three days of joining her new job!” said BJP Mahila Morcha state president Phalguni Patra.

“This is exactly how the state government hurriedly shifted the body of the RG Kar victim. We protested because the nurse’s family wanted her body taken to AIIMS Kalyani or Command Hospital in Calcutta,” added Patra, who led the BJP protest in Hooghly.

CPM Hooghly district secretary Debabrata Ghosh accused the police of covering up the cause of death.

“If the police were confident that it was a suicide, they could have easily conducted the post-mortem at Serampore Hospital. Why move the body to Calcutta? This smacks og foul play,” said Ghosh.

Trinamool Congress leaders accused the BJP and CPM of politicising the death.

“A young woman has died, and police are investigating the case. They should be given time to complete their probe without political interference,” said TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.

BJP and CPM workers clashed in front of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital when the body arrived there.