Bengal CPM MLA jumps to death
The CPI(M) MLA from Basirhat Uttar in North 24 Parganas, Mostafa Bin Kasem, committed suicide by jumping off the fourth floor of the MLA hostel in central Kolkata on Sunday evening. Kasem’s sudden death came as a shock to Bengal’s political fraternity. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, along with state commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee and mayor Sovan Chatterjee, rushed to the spot on hearing about the incident. Deputy commissioner (south) Supratim Sarkar, along with the Park Street police, who went to the spot, recovered a suicide note from hostel room No. 411 where the MLA was staying with his son Masum Bin Kasem and daughter-in-law Sonali. He was slated to attend the state Assembly session beginning Monday.
The 78-year-old MLA had been suffering from kidney and cardiac ailments for a long time. He had been admitted to the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital a few days ago for treatment. “The chronic disease had led him into depression,” his son Masum said.
According to sources, son Masum had gone to drop his wife at around 4.30 pm. On returning, he did not find his father in the room and later found him lying in a pool of blood on the parapet of the ground floor of the hostel building. Doctors at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital pronounced him dead on arrival. The body has been sent for post-mortem.
Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee said: “It is unfortunate that we have lost a colleague. I condole his family as well as the CPI(M) for their irreparable loss. Had it been possible, we could have postponed the Speaker’s election on Monday. But as the notification by the governor has already been issued, we cannot postpone it. However, we will not conduct the election process until his last rites are completed.” Former Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim and senior CPI(M) leader Rabin Deb, rushed to the spot.
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