Inter-party clashes continued to singe Birbhum with BJP activist suffering splinter injury and another person struck by an arrow after miscreants and BJP supporters clashed at Mohammad Bazar area on Saturday. Earlier, Kalo Sona Mondal and former CPI-M MP, Dr Ram Chandra Dome were injured in clashes with Trinamul activists.
Trouble broke out during the day when the BJP candidates had gone to file nomination papers with their supporters, comprising mostly tribals who were armed with bows and arrows in Mohammad Bazar area.
Suddenly some miscreants hurled bombs and fired bullets at them making the BJP supporters retaliate by shooting arrows at their assailants and injuring one person.
The BJP supporters blocked the NH 60 and Mohammad bazar – Berhampore Road during the day.
Superintendent of police, Birbhum, Neelkanth Sudhir Kumar and ASP rushed to the site and persuaded the irate crowd to lift the road blockade. Mr Kumar told The Statesman that huge number of Rapid Action Force (RAF) jawans, Combat Force and state armed police personnel have been posted in the area and are patrolling in the trouble-torn pockets. “So far the situation is under control but nobody has been arrested in this connection,” he said.
Mr Ramkrishna Roy, district president of BJP said that trouble broke out throughout the district during the day as the ruling party allegedly brought armed goons from neighbouring states to prevent the BJP candidates from filing nomination papers. But despite such efforts, BJP candidates have filed nomination papers in the second half at Mohammad Bazar area,he said.
Mr Anubrata Mondal, district President of Trinamul Congress refuted these claims and said that it was the the BJP who brought armed goons from Jharkhand.
“ We have faith in district police and they will nab the culprits who have come from outside to create trouble before the polls in Birbhum,”he said.