A woman has been arrested for her alleged connection with the murder of a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Usthi village in the Diamond Harbour police district in South 24 Parganas. "We are exploring the angle of the deceased having been involved in a relationship and any quarrel with the arrested person," a senior police officer said.

They added, the accused has confessed to having hit the deceased with sharp weapons resulting in his death.

The corpse of Prithviraj Naskar, a district level BJP leader, was discovered inside the local party office at Usthi on Saturday. His clothes were soaked in blood and the office was locked from outside, the police noted. They had to break open the door to recover his body.

The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the murder. In a public statement, the victim's father has alleged that local TMC leaders had threatened his son on several occasions for his political allegiance.

"During the Durga Pujas he had hung placards at various places demanding justice for the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital doctor, who was sexually assaulted and murdered on August 9.

TMC leaders threatened him with dire consequences and asked him to take down the placards, which he refused to. His murder is a clear fallout

of that controversy," he said and demanded justice for his son.

The BJP claims a breakdown of law and order in Diamond Harbour.

Sukanto Majumdar, state BJP president said, "This is the same area where lakhs of people are not allowed to vote. It is the same area where the police dance to the tune of the local TMC MP (read Abhishek Banerjee), who wins by a margin of 7.5 lakh votes. So you can expect the consequences a person might suffer for raising his or her voice."