The body of a BJP leader was found inside the party office in Usthi in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, a police officer said on Saturday.

The deceased, Prithviraj Naskar, managed the party’s social media account in the district.

The BJP pointed the finger at the Trinamool Congress (TMC), while the police, after arresting a woman in connection with the murder, said the reason for the killing could be personal.

Naskar’s blood-stained body was discovered Friday evening at the party office. His family members said he had been missing since November 5.

A senior police officer said the arrested woman confessed to hitting the deceased with sharp weapons, leading to his death.

“We are exploring the angle that the deceased had a relationship and possible argument with the arrested person,” he told reporters.

The officer said a police team forced the front door and a locked folding gate from inside the party office before finding the body.

The alleged attacker fled through a back door.

After a preliminary investigation and cellphone tracking, the woman was arrested in a nearby locality and during interrogation, she confessed to committing the crime, the police officer said.

An investigation was underway into whether she had been aided and abetted by anyone else, he said.

The BJP and the TMC engaged in a war of words after the murder.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar told reporters that local TMC activists were behind Naskar’s murder as they wanted to scare away saffron party supporters in the area.

Writing on X, Majumdar said, “Our fight will continue until justice is done and the killers of martyr Prithviraj are brought to light. The BJP remains committed to ending Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s bloodthirsty and oppressive rule in Bengal.

The state unit of the BJP claimed in another X article that the district social media manager was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by TMC goons.

“The police ignored his family’s desperate calls for help,” he says.

Senior TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh alleged that the BJP knew the exact reason for Naskar’s death but was peddling lies implicating the TMC.

Ghosh claimed in an X post that there were reports that the deceased had personal enmity with more than one person.

The injuries in certain parts of his body testify to the attacker’s animosity and contempt towards the man, the TMC leader said, expressing hope that the investigation will cover all these angles.

Meanwhile, Naskar’s father claimed that his son had drawn the ire of some local TMC activists and the police after he put up placards demanding justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim during the recent Durga festival Puja in the area.

“My son was warned of dire consequences by local TMC leaders if he had staged protests over the RG Kar issue during the festive season,” the father said.