E-Paper
Ex-TMC MLA Asish Banerjee faced no case of corruption: CM Suvendu denies any police ‘pressure’ caused his death
“Police will see if he was being blackmailed. He was a gentleman although the same cannot be said about some of his colleagues (from Mamata's TMC),” CM said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has denied the charge that Asish Banerjee — the former TMC MLA who was found dead in an alleged case of suicide — was pressured by any corruption cases. “No case was registered against him and he was never sent any notice by the police,” Adhikari said, responding apparently to TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's allegations that the former deputy speaker of the assembly was being “pressured” by the new BJP regime.
“I talked to members of Asish Banerjee's family today,” Adhikari added, “They said the police and local BJP leaders always behaved well with them. They said Dhruba Saha (BJP leader who defeated him in the recent assembly election) had gone to his home and touched his feet to seek blessings after the polls.”
He alleged that “corrupt people in the TMC might have threatened him saying they would take his name if there was a probe”.
Noting that Asish Banerjee had distanced himself from the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and sided with the rebels after the polls, the CM said, “Let the police check his phone call records and find out who he had been talking to. Police will see if he was being blackmailed. He was a gentleman although the same cannot be said about some of his party colleagues.”
Asish Banerjee was 74 and is survived by his wife and son.
What note said
Besides his body, which was found at a TMC office near his residence in Hattala Para in Rampurhat in Birbhum district on Sunday morning, a purported suicide note was also recovered. In this note, he is learnt to have said that no one was responsible for his death and expressed regret over entering politics at all.
Police reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem examination. The exact circumstances leading to his death are yet to be ascertained, and police are examining the contents of the purported suicide note and other circumstances surrounding the incident, officials added.
According to the one-page note, he said he had never been involved in corruption and had never taken money in exchange for any work. He also wrote that although he could not always accept “wrongdoings” within the party, he had been unable to protest against them.
The note reportedly contained a reference to the Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority (TRDA), with Banerjee claiming that he had no role in its tender-related decisions, cheque issuance, plan approvals or no-objection certificates. He alleged that attempts had been made to “malign” and humiliate him, and said he felt that entering politics had been a mistake.
Banerjee, who had been associated with politics since his student days and had also worked as a teacher, advised members of his family not to enter politics and recalled the affection he had received from his students.
A veteran TMC leader, he represented Rampurhat in the state assembly continuously from 2001 to 2026. He served as the deputy speaker and held ministerial portfolios, including school education and agriculture, in successive governments led by Mamata Banerjee.
What Abhishek alleged
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, reacting to the death, said the contents of the note raised “serious and troubling questions”.
“A lifelong teacher and public servant, Asish Da devoted decades to serving people with honesty, dignity and simplicity,” Abhishek Banerjee said in a social media post, alleging that the BJP and sections of the media should reflect on the consequences of a politics in which allegations are amplified and reputations are put on trial before the truth is established.
Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh called for a “neutral investigation”.
Ghosh alleged that the former MLA had faced political pressure and referred to a purported video of a BJP leader allegedly insulting him on the road. He also claimed that some former TMC leaders who had moved towards the BJP had pressured Banerjee to follow them. These allegations could not be independently verified.
Local BJP MLA Dhruba Saha, who defeated Asish Banerjee in the 2026 Assembly elections, expressed grief over his death and called for a proper investigation.
“After I won from Rampurhat, I had gone to his residence to seek his blessings. The people of Rampurhat and Birbhum want to know the truth. We want a proper investigation into his death,” Saha said.
After his electoral defeat, Banerjee was not seen to be particularly active in politics, party sources said.
In June this year, Banerjee had stepped down as the TMC district president but said he would continue as a member of the party.
Banerjee's death comes months after the TMC lost power in West Bengal following its 15-year rule, with the BJP forming the government after the 2026 Assembly polls. The change in political fortunes has also seen several former TMC leaders and legislators face corruption-related investigations and arrests.
Police are investigating whether Banerjee died by suicide and, if so, what prompted him to take the extreme step. The post-mortem report and the contents of the purported note are expected to shed more light on the circumstances surrounding his death.
