Suicide after harass note

Burdwan, July 24: A CPM activist, who worked as a supervisor of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in a Burdwan village, allegedly committed suicide yesterday after writing a note accusing six Trinamul Congress supporters of harassing him.

Manajit Josh, a resident of Arui in Burdwan’s Madhabdihi, was appointed the village NREGS supervisor last December by the CPM-run gram panchayat.

Trinamul supporters had allegedly demanded that 27-year-old Josh give them financial details of NREGS projects in the village, Manajit’s cousin Uday Kundu said.

“My cousin had been accused of embezzling NREGS funds. But when he submitted the details at a salishi sabha (kangaroo court) 10 days ago, they were not satisfied,” Kundu said. “They told him to leave the party and pay Rs 6 lakh to Trinamul as fine.”

“When they made the demand for money, he broke down. He did not have the means to pay such a huge sum,” Kundu added.

After lunch yesterday, he locked himself up in his room. When he did not come out even hours later, his parents called their neighbours.

“They forced open the door and found him frothing at the mouth and groaning,” Kundu said.

Manajit was taken to the Burdwan Medical College, 60km away, where he died.

“On the way, he told us that he had left a suicide note in his room,” Kundu said.

Police said they had found a suicide note in which he had named six persons.

Josh, a member of the CPM village committee, had become the party’s youth wing secretary last year.

Local Trinamul leader Basudeb Dawn said the CPM had used Manajit Josh to siphon off NREGS funds. “We had asked for accounts but he did not give this for a long time. When he did, they were not complete,” he said.

“The CPM itself is responsible for his death,” Dawn added.