Kolkata, Oct 3 (IANS) A local Trinamool Congress leader and his father were found dead under mysterious circumstances at their residence in Ashoknagar in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Saturday, police said.
The deceased Trinamool leader has been identified as Sanjay Raut. The body of his father, Kamal Raut, a senior citizen, was also recovered from a bed in the same room, a district police officer said.
“At the time when the body of the father was recovered, he was still alive. He was rushed to a hospital. But he died soon,” confirmed a district police officer.
Sanjay Raut was a well-known political figure in the area and was known as an extremely close confidant of former Trinamool Congress legislator from Ashoknagar Assembly Constituency, Narayan Goswami.
Sanjay (49) and his father (72) were residents of ward number 13 of Ashoknagar-Kalyangarh Municipality. The local people told media persons that Sanjay’s body was found hanging from the balcony of the house by family members on Saturday afternoon.
“Kamal Raut was recovered from the house in an unconscious state. He was rushed to Ashoknagar State General Hospital where doctors declared him dead. It is initially believed that Kamal had taken sleeping pills, while Sanjay died by hanging himself from the ceiling,” a local resident said.
The police have sent the bodies of the father and the son for postmortem examination. “The real reasons behind their deaths will be known only after the detailed postmortem report is available,” said a district police officer.
Besides being an active Trinamool Congress leader at the local level, Sanjay Raut was also involved in export-import business. Some local residents said that in the recent past he was anxious because of some business-related losses.
Sanjay was unmarried. His father lived with him. Initially, the police suspected that Sanjay might have committed suicide after giving his father sleeping pills. However, the Ashoknagar police started a detailed investigation to find out the real cause behind the death of the father and son.
–IANS
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