Bengal BJP youth wing leader dies of cardiac arrest after attending party meet

KOLKATA: A youth wing leader of the BJP in West Bengal died due to a cardiac arrest on Monday night after attending a meeting of the party here, BJYM sources said.

The sources said Raju Sarkar, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) state vice president, had complained of uneasiness after attending the meeting at the party's Hastings office, following which he was rushed to the state-run SSKM Hospital.

He was given medicines at the SSKM and was taken to a private super speciality hospital where he was declared brought dead, they said.

The death of the youth wing leader led to a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

BJP spokesman Shamik Bhattacharya said Sarkar suddenly fell sick after the morcha meeting got over and he was taken to SSKM hospital but "due to no ITU facility at the state-run hospital, he had to be taken to a private hospital" a few kilometres away, where he was declared dead.

TMC spokesman and party state general secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed he has information that Sarkar was subjected to mental harassment by a section of youth wing leaders.

"Raju was a jovial and simple person. He had stepped down along with Saumitra Khan from Morcha earlier in July but taken back his resignation later on. He had many grievances against the party that I know," Ghosh said.

Bhattacharya ruled out any possibility of foul play in the death and said Sarkar did not feel stressed due to any alteration during a morcha meeting and looked perfectly normal having even exchanged pleasantries with some journalists present there.