Former Bengal deputy speaker found dead at TMC office

Ashis Banerjee, former deputy speaker of the West Bengal Assembly and five-time Trinamool Congress MLA, was found dead at a party office in Rampurhat, Birbhum district, on Sunday morning. Police said his body was found hanging and has been sent for post-mortem. Sources told PTI that a purported suicide note was recovered from the office near his residence.

Banerjee, who lost the 2026 assembly election from Rampurhat to the BJP by over 24,000 votes, had stepped down as chairman of the TMC's Birbhum district core committee earlier this year. He had served as deputy speaker and held ministerial portfolios including school education in the Mamata Banerjee government. The exact circumstances of his death are not yet known.