Ex-West Bengal deputy speaker Ashis Banerjee found hanging

Ashis Banerjee, a former deputy speaker of the West Bengal Assembly and veteran Trinamool Congress leader, was found hanging at a party office in Rampurhat, Birbhum, on Sunday morning, August 16. Police said a purported suicide note was recovered from the spot. Birbhum Superintendent of Police Vidit Raj Bhundesh told The Indian Express it was "primarily" a suicide case.

In the note, written in Bengali on Banerjee's letterhead, he reportedly wrote that no one was responsible for his death and that entering politics had been a mistake. He denied corruption allegations and said he had no role in tender decisions or financial matters at the Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority. He added that he could never protest against "wrongdoings" within the party and accused unnamed people of trying to "malign" him. The news agency PTI said it could not independently verify the note's authenticity.

Banerjee, who represented Rampurhat from 2001 to 2026, had lost the seat to BJP's Dhruba Saha by over 24,000 votes in the 2026 assembly polls. His death comes months after the TMC lost power in West Bengal, with the BJP forming the government. Police are investigating the circumstances and have sent the body for post-mortem examination.