At least three persons were killed and five critically injured on Monday in continued clashes between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP over formation of panchayat boards in various parts of Bengal. Purulia and Malda remained the epicentres of post-poll bloodshed.
Niranjan Mahato, a BJP supporter, was shot dead at Joypur in Purulia and at least five others received bullet injuries, sources said, even as the Trinamool Congress blamed the saffron outfit for the violence. “Many of our people received bomb injuries at Chorapahari village panchayat in neighbouring Raghunathpur block where our supporters were attacked by the Trinamool Congress men,” claimed BJP State leader Sayantan Basu. The Trinamool rejected the allegations.
“The whole day they have been intermittently importing armed gangs from the neighbouring Jharkhand and attacking out supporters. Clashes took place when the local people resisted the BJP goons from Jharkhand,” district TMC president and Minister Shantiram Mahato said. “It is difficult to understand why the TMC men would come to a panchayat area where they have no winning candidates. They had no members in the affected areas of Joypur and Raghunathpur. This only proves that they had come with their bikers’ gangs armed to the teethto create trouble. In the melee one of our party supporters was killed and five others were critically injured,” said Basu adding one of their men were killed by a police bullet.
The police, however, later said there was no firing from their side. Two more persons including a TMC supporter were killed at Manikchak in Malda district when alleged Congress men hurled bombs at the TMC, supporters sources said. Clashes also took place at Uluberia in Howrah district, De Ganga in North 24 Parganas, Chopra in North Dinajpur district and Alipurduar in North Bengal, sources said. Meanwhile, taking serious note of the ongoing violence Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asked her Ministers to “see to it that no violence takes place from now.” She told her Ministers at a meeting at Nabanna, “Some reports of clashes coming. You have to be cautious and take immediate measures to stop such violence.”
A 3-year-old child also received bullet injuries. local SP Arnab Ghosh was however not available for comments.
At Canning in South 24 Parganas two groups of the ruling outfit clashed over the control of the panchayat boards, sources said. After Monday’s clashes the total death toll went up to four in the past 48 hours police sources said. The violent encounters took place over the formation of panchayat boards at various places.
The clashes between Congress and the TMC notwithstanding, Malda MP Mausam Benazir Noor on Monday spoke in a conciliatory tone asking her party men to back the Trinamool candidates wherever there was a hung-house in a bid to stop BJP from taking control of the House.
“We have told our men to support the TMC or the CPI(M) wherever there is a hung house because the prime goal is now to stop the BJP from capturing the Boards,” Noor said adding her party would support the TMC in 146 panchayats where there was no clear majority.