The victim's husband has blamed workers of the Trinamool Congress
A CPM worker in Bengal has alleged that his wife was gang-raped, paraded naked and then killed last night. In his complaint to the police, he has accused workers of ruling political party, the Trinamool Congress, which has denied any involvement.
The husband's claim is being supported by CPM leader and former minister Chakradhar Maikap.
The police said they found the woman hanging from the ceiling in her home in Sunia village of East Midnapore district this morning. The door, they said, was locked from inside. Superintendent of police Sukesh Jain said the woman's family initially alleged that she had committed suicide after some people visited her.
The husband later filed the complaint of gang-rape and murder, Mr Jain said. He also said the allegation that the victim was paraded naked has not been confirmed or substantiated.
A post mortem report is awaited.
The CPM alleges that the woman was attacked after she failed to pay a 12-lakh fine demanded by local Trinamool affiliates because her husband was a CPM worker who fled their village after the Left party was decimated in the 2011 state election.
Extortion in the form of such fines is common in rural Bengal where political rivals feud regularly and viciously.
In July, Tapas Pal, a lawmaker from the Trinamool Congress, retracted his remarks and apologised after being caught on camera warning that he would have Left workers killed and their female relatives raped. However, Mr Pal was not penalised by his party. The Calcutta High Court is now deciding whether a police case should be filed against him.
The Trinamool is headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who ended three decades of Left rule in Bengal with that landslide victory in 2011.