Panihati — A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, Arup Saha, died on Sunday morning after he was allegedly assaulted during a confrontation with fellow party workers at Sodepur in Panihati, in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, police said.

According to police and family accounts reported by news agencies, the dispute began on Saturday at the Siding Bazaar market in Sodepur, where a local trader was allegedly assaulted by a group of youths. Saha's wife, Ruma Saha, who is the secretary of the BJP's Panihati-1 mandal, protested against the assault on the trader and was allegedly verbally abused. When Arup Saha intervened, a group of people allegedly attacked him.

Source: PTI via Fact / Deccan Herald

Saha was seriously injured in the alleged attack and was taken to Sagar Dutta Medical College and Hospital in Kamarhati, where he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday morning, a police officer said. Some reports said he complained of chest pain after the altercation before his condition deteriorated.

Source: Hindustan Times

Ruma Saha has alleged that the attackers included party workers who had recently switched to the BJP from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and reports said complaints have been lodged against the BJP Yuva Morcha president of Panihati Mandal-1 and several others in connection with the assault. These are allegations; police said an investigation is underway.

Source: Daily Kiran

Panihati BJP MLA Ratna Debnath visited the area and blamed the unrest on former TMC members who have joined the BJP, saying unwanted elements continued to operate within the party despite repeated warnings. The remarks have brought the BJP's factional tensions in the area into the open.

Source: The Daily Jagran

Police have started an investigation based on the family's complaint. No arrest had been reported in the accounts published by Sunday night, and the exact cause of death will be established after the post-mortem examination.