Ashis Banerjee, the former deputy speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and a veteran Trinamool Congress leader, was found dead on Sunday morning at a party office in Rampurhat, Birbhum district. Police said his body was discovered hanging inside the Trinamool Congress office located near his residence. The body was sent for a post-mortem examination.
A purported suicide note was also recovered from the scene. Authorities stated that the exact circumstances surrounding the death remain unclear and an investigation is under way.
Banerjee had a long political career in the region. He represented the Rampurhat constituency as a five-time Member of the Legislative Assembly, holding the seat continuously for 25 years from 2001. He served as deputy speaker of the assembly during the period when Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee was chief minister of West Bengal.
In the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, Banerjee contested again from Rampurhat but lost the seat to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Dhruba Saha. Following the electoral defeat, he had resigned from his position as chairman of the Trinamool Congress Birbhum district core committee.
The discovery of the body led to a gathering of people in the area on Sunday morning. Police personnel responded to the incident and took charge of the investigation, including examination of the purported note recovered from the party office.
Officials have not yet determined the precise sequence of events leading to the death. Further details are expected after the completion of the post-mortem examination and ongoing police inquiries. The matter continues to be treated as a developing situation under active investigation.