Birbhum on Friday returned to its old violent ways when gangsters allegedly backed by the Trinamool Congress attacked each other over the control of sand mining rights, killing at least eight people in the process.
The TMC-backed sand mafia from Mirpur Village lobbed dozens of bombs at rival groups of Darbarpur Village in luvpur block of the district, blasting eight people into pieces, said sources, adding police failed to control the confrontation that erupted over the control of dry river beds yielding several crores of rupees a year.
According to villagers, the TMC-backed miscreants led by Seikh Ahad came from Mirpur and attacked the people of Darbarpur. Other sources, however, said the bombs went off accidentally while being assembled.
Residents said the victims could not be identified as most of the villagers fled after the clash that started in the morning and continued till late afternoon. Police said the toll could go up further as many bodies and limbs still lay strewn in the paddy fields.
“The whole area turned into a battlefield with gangs lobbing bombs relentlessly at each other,” said sources, adding things calmed down a bit only after Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Bolpur Amlan Kusum Ghosh arrived with heavy reinforcement.
Even as Friday’s violence stunned the administration, Birbhum strongman and district Trinamool Congress president Anubrata Mondal said the clash was the result of an attack by the mercenaries of the CPI(M). However, former CPI(M) MP Ramchandra Dome blamed the Trinamool for Friday’s bloodshed.
However, District Superintendent of Police N Sudheer Kumar said that Friday’s bloodshed was an accident and the eight deceased were identified as local miscreants who were making crude bombs as a part of their preparation to continue an ongoing fight between two groups from the locality.
“A gang of miscreants was making bombs on the outskirts of the village. Somehow the bombs exploded in the afternoon, killing four on the spot. Four others were declared brought dead when taken to the hospital,” Sudheer Kumar added.
Incidentally, intermittent raids have led to the recovery of thousands of bombs over the past two years throughout the Birbhum district and particularly in luvpur, Dubrajpur and Ilambazar blocks.