The wife of a murdered Congress councillor in West Bengal died due to poisoning, according to the autopsy report. Purnima Kandu, the wife of Tapan Kandu, was elected a municipal councillor in Bengal’s Jhalda after he was murdered in March 2022.
Purnima Kandu eventually went on to become the vice-chairperson and later chairperson of the Jhalda municipal agency.
Purnima Kandu’s nephew Mithun had alleged she was poisoned after she was found unconscious in her house on October 11 night, the last day of Durga Puja in Bengal. She was taken to a hospital, where doctors said she was brought dead.
Her body was found under mysterious circumstances at her house on the night of October 11, the last day of Durga Puja in the state. She was immediately rushed to the health centre at Jhalda where she was declared dead by the doctors.
The Congress’s district president Nepal Mahato had also alleged Purnima Kandu’s death seemed unnatural. The police have not commented on the autopsy report so far.
Bengal Congress chief Shubhankar Sarkar in a Facebook post said he visited Jhalda to meet the family of Tapan Kandu and Purnima.
“… Tapan Kandu was a victim of political violence inflicted upon by TMC (Trinamool Congress) to usurp control of the local governing body. His wife, late Purnima Kandu, was resilient and remained with the Congress till her unfortunate demise…” Mr Sarkar wrote.
The autopsy was conducted at Deben Mahato Medical College and Hospital in Purulia after her family alleged she was poisoned.
The Calcutta High Court had ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the death of her husband, after which the police arrested seven people.
The Congress party has now demanded a CBI probe into the death of Purnima Kandu too.
