Purulia: If you thought the tiff between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP is over in Bengal with Mamata Banerjee calling off the dharna, you are highly mistaken. In what can be another flashpoint between the two warring parties, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, who went to attend UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath's rally in Purulia, has gone missing ever since. BJP believes he has been abducted allegedly by the TMC men.

Kartik Kumar Ghorai is a VHP leader belonging to the politically sensitive district of Purulia. He, like many, went to Purulia to attend Yogi Adityanath's rally, for which Mamata government didn't allow the UP CM's chopper to land. But on the way back, he went missing and untraceable since Tuesday night.

Police have started investigating the case but the missing VHP leader has not been traced so far, giving enough fodder to the opposition to cry foul. What makes the situation more serious is that during the investigation, the police have recovered broken parts of the bike used by Ghorai. Speaking to MyNation, family members have of the VHP leader have confirmed the incident. His son, who is barely eight years old, said, "I don't know where he has gone. He told me he will be back and even promised to take me out this morning to buy books for my school. But so far, he hasn't returned."

BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose told MyNation, "This is serious. If people are picked up, they go missing, if they are found dead, it's dangerous. We have spoken to home minister Rajnath Singh about the law and order situation. Leaders may get security cover, but what about our cadres? They feel threatened."

The reason Purulia is crucial is because BJP made inroads into Bengal through Purulia in the panchayat election, which was marred by violence and intimidation. Though 33% seats went uncontested as the opposition wasn't allowed to file nomination, Purulia stood out where BJP rooted out the ruling TMC, sending alarm bells ringing. Soon, a bloody game of murder started in the district with two BJP leaders Dulal Kumar and Trilochan Mahato found hanging under mysterious circumstances. The BJP was quick to allege murder by the TMC cadres, which the latter strongly refuted. Given this background of the district, the abduction of Ghorai is seen with scepticism.

Karma village, which falls under Balrampur police station of the Purulia district, where Ghorai lived, has remained tense ever since. Eye witness accounts suggest few in a Scorpio car chased him when he was on his way back. Ghorai's mobile was switched off midway and has remained off since then.

Sources say, apart from broken parts of Ghorai's bike, broken parts of his mobile too have been recovered by the cops.

(With inputs from Anil Giri)