Ashis Banerjee former deputy speaker of West Bengal found dead at TMC party office

Former deputy speaker of the West Bengal Assembly, Ashis Banerjee, was found hanging at a TMC party office in Birbhum district on Sunday morning, police sources said.

A purported suicide note was also recovered from the party office located near his residence in Hattala Para in Rampurhat, they said.

In the purported note, which has gone viral on social media, Banerjee is learnt to have said that no one was responsible for his death and expressed regret over entering politics. PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the letter.

Police reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem examination.

The exact circumstances leading to his death are yet to be ascertained, and police are examining the contents of the purported suicide note and other circumstances surrounding the incident, the sources said.

Banerjee, a veteran TMC leader, had represented Rampurhat in the state Assembly continuously from 2001 till 2026. He had served as the deputy speaker of the Assembly and held ministerial portfolios, including school education and agriculture, in the Mamata Banerjee government.

According to the purported one-page note, Banerjee claimed that he had never been involved in corruption and had never taken money in exchange for any work. He also wrote that although he could not always accept "wrongdoings" within the party, he had been unable to protest against them.

The note also reportedly contained a reference to the Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority (TRDA), with Banerjee claiming that he had no role in its tender-related decisions, cheque issuance, plan approvals or no-objection certificates. He alleged that attempts had been made to "malign" and humiliate him, and said he felt that entering politics had been a mistake.

Banerjee, who had been associated with politics since his student days and had also worked as a teacher, advised members of his family not to enter politics and recalled the affection he had received from his students.

Banerjee had contested the 2026 Assembly elections from Rampurhat on a TMC ticket but lost to BJP's Dhruva Saha by more than 24,000 votes. After his electoral defeat, Banerjee was not seen to be particularly active in politics, party sources said.

His political career also placed him at the centre of several significant developments in Birbhum, where he was a prominent TMC leader during the tenure of party strongman Anubrata Mondal as district president.

Banerjee's death comes months after the TMC lost power in West Bengal following its 15-year rule, with the BJP forming the government after the 2026 Assembly polls. The change in political fortunes has also seen several former TMC leaders and legislators face corruption-related investigations and arrests.

Police are investigating whether Banerjee died by suicide and, if so, what prompted him to take the extreme step. The post-mortem report and the contents of the purported note are expected to shed more light on the circumstances surrounding his death.