Former Bengal deputy speaker Ashis Banerjee found dead in Birbhum

Former West Bengal Assembly deputy speaker and veteran TMC leader Ashis Banerjee was found dead at a party office in Birbhum on Sunday. Police recovered a purported note and launched an investigation to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the 74-year-old leader’s death

Rampurhat (WB): Former deputy speaker of the West Bengal Assembly, Ashis Banerjee, was found hanging at a TMC party office in Birbhum district on Sunday morning, police said. A purported suicide note was also recovered from the party office located near his residence in Hattala Para in Rampurhat, they said. He was 74 and is survived by his wife and son.

In the purported note, which has gone viral on social media, Banerjee is learnt to have said that no one was responsible for his death and expressed regret over entering politics. PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the letter.

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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, they added.

Banerjee, a veteran TMC leader, had represented Rampurhat in the state Assembly continuously from 2001 till 2026. He had served as the deputy speaker of the Assembly and held ministerial portfolios, including school education and agriculture, in the Mamata Banerjee government.

According to the purported one-page note, Banerjee claimed that 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 also 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.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, reacting to the death, said the contents of the purported final note raised “serious and troubling questions” about the alleged smear campaign faced by the former MLA. “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”, saying it was too early to conclude that Banerjee had died by suicide. 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 Dhruva Saha, who defeated 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.
Banerjee had contested the 2026 Assembly elections from Rampurhat on a TMC ticket but lost to Saha by more than 24,000 votes. After his electoral defeat, Banerjee was not seen to be particularly active in politics, party sources said.

His political career also placed him at the centre of several significant developments in Birbhum, where he was a prominent TMC leader during the tenure of party strongman Anubrata Mondal as district president.

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.