Party office comes under attack in West Bengal's Bhatpara, 5 injured

Bhatpara: Party offices in the Bhatpara-Kankinara stretch of North 24 Parganas have become vulnerable with changing political equations in the district ever since Arjun Singh dumped Trinamool and won the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket. The change of political colours has sparked street fights and violence, the latest on Thursday night.

At least five people suffered splinter injuries after miscreants hurled bombs and opened fire in Ramnagar Colony of ward 10 of Bhatpara Municipality to wrest control of a Trinamool-turned-BJP office. Barrackpore Police rounded up 10 people in this connection. Police commissioner Manoj Verma visited the spot on Friday.

Trouble broke out after a group of Trinamool supporters raided Ramnagar Colony to regain control of the BJP office that was once theirs. Local Trinamool leaders alleged BJP had occupied as many as 38 of their party offices soon after Arjun’s poll win.

BJP supporters were in no mood to give Trinamool a walkover. “Rivals fought each other with bombs and bullets, turning Ramnagar Colony into a battle zone,” a local said.

BJP’s Barrackpore president Umashankar Singh put the blame on Trinamool. “The armed Trinamool goons targeted our supporters at Naihati’s Goalafatak. They then tried to capture a BJP office in Bhatpara but had to beat a retreat,” he said.

Senior Trinamool leader and councillor Mahammad Maksud Alam said: “BJP supporters were creating ruckus in Ramnagar area on Thursday on the plea of holding a picnic. Trinamool supporters came under attack when they tried to prevent the chaos.”

Bombs were also hurled at the Trinamool office in Naihati’s Mamudpur on Friday.