{
  "id": 1391320,
  "title": "Suspected suicide of TMC's Asish Banerjee sparks political blame game in West Bengal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/suspected-suicide-of-tmcs-asish-banerjee-sparks-political-blame-game",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-17T01:27:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/suspected-suicide-of-tmcs-asish-banerjee-sparks-political-blame-game-in-west-bengal-101786928942761.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a suspected case of suicide, former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and five-time West Bengal assembly deputy speaker Asish Banerjee was found dead at the party office on Sunday. The 75-year-old, a former state minister, had visited the TMC office in Rampurhat in the morning, but failed to respond to repeated calls from his family, leading them to alert the police. A note, purportedly written by Banerjee on his letterhead, indicated that he was never involved in corruption and accused others of attempting to tarnish his image. The TMC leader, who had distanced himself from the party's leadership after his recent electoral defeat, was accused by rival factions, including the BJP, of corruption and irregularities in a government body called the Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority (TRDA). The BJP alleged that Banerjee was targeted due to his alleged involvement, while the TMC claimed that corrupt leaders within the TMC were pressuring and threatening him. The incident has sparked a political blame game in the state, with Mamata Banerjee, the state's former chief minister, calling for a probe into the matter and accusing the ruling BJP of systematically vilifying her former associate.",
  "summary": "The BJP has alleged corruption and irregularities in the authority, including in connection with sand tenders.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}