Trinamool local leader shot at in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas, Trinamool-BJP war of words follows

Political clashes are not infrequent in Kankinara-Bhatpara-Barrackpore region, in the northern fringes of Kolkata in North 24 Parganas district. On Wednesday, two bikers shot at Trinamool Congress’ local leader Dharmendra Singh outside the premises of a factory, close to his house. He was an active leader of the party.

He was initially taken to the Bhatpara state-run hospital and later admitted to a private hospital. The attack led to a massive war of words between the top leaders of the Trinamool and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. A first information report has been filed by the police and investigation is on. The Trinamool Congress leader had recently joined the party after quitting BJP.

With Dharmendra Singh undergoing treatment in hospital and his condition stated to be critical, Trinamool Congress senior leader and state minister Jyotipriyo Mullick said that Arjun Singh should either surrender or be arrested, and that he was paving the way to his own death. Mullick blamed Arjun Singh for the attack on Dharmendra Singh.

Arjun Singh – who was earlier with the Trinamool Congress and switched over to the BJP prior to the Lok Sabha polls of 2019 on being denied a party ticket and went on to win it on a BJP ticket, said that he was not one to be scared of such threats. Arjun Singh alleged that Trinamool Congress’ Dharmendra Singh had been caught up in a fight with his own party colleagues over share of money and that had led to the attack.

The BJP and Trinamool Congress have been caught up in a political fight in north Bengal as well, where BJP MLA Debendra Nath Ray was found hanging in an open varandah outside a shop in a market close to his house at Balia in Raigunj of Uttar Dinajpur district on Monday morning. While police said that the Hemtabad MLA was found with a suicide note his family members claimed he was called by someone at around 1 am. The BJP Bengal wing has demanded a probe by the Centre Bureau of Investigation (CBI).