BJP MLA Debendra Nath Ray found dead

BJP MLA Debendra Nath Ray was found dead on Monday morning in the North Dinajpur district of West Bengal.

The senior leader was found hanging in a verandah ceiling outside a mobile shop which is a kilometer away from his home. A suicide note has been found in his pocket. A family member claimed the Ray was called at 1 am and was taken away.

The West Bengal police in a series of tweets said, "A suicide note is recovered from the shirt pocket of the deceased. Two persons have been named in the note as responsible for his death," and adding, "All necessary steps of investigation such as the use of tracker dog, visit of forensic experts are being taken. PM is yet to be done. People are requested not to jump on speculative, biased, and judgmental conclusions and to wait for the investigation to complete".

BJP leaders and members have alleged the MLA was murdered. BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said in a tweet, "No end to the killing of BJP leaders in Bengal. The BJP MLA who had left the TMC has been murdered. Was it because he joined the BJP?"

Ray had joined BJP last year. He had previously won a CPM seat backed by Congress in 2016.