At least 10 persons, including a police officer and some civic volunteers, were injured when a clash occurred between activists of the Trinamul Congress and the BJP at the office of the Itahar Block Development Officer in North Dinajpur district this afternoon.

An Assistant Sub-inspector of Police (ASI), who received serious head injuries, was admitted in the Itahar hospital. Both the groups hurled stones at each other and ransacked the office of the BDO.

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Furniture and window panes of the office were vandalized and bombs were detonated on the spot. “In protest against the clash, activists of both the BJP and the Trinamul Congress blocked National Highway-34 at Chawrasta More in Itahar for hours. Tension reigned across Itahar Block following the clash and in order to control the situation, Rapid Action Force and Combat force were deployed in the area,” a local said.

It may be mentioned here that six BJP members, including four women, were at the BDO office to file their nomination papers when a group of persons allegedly backed by the TMC thrashed them up and tore their nomination papers on 3 April.

On the other hand, more than 2000 BJP activists, armed with bows and arrows and sharp weapons, marched in a procession this afternoon and reached the office of the Itahar BDO and filed their nomination forms for the panchayat elections.