Kolkata witnessed three incidents of political clashes over the past 48 hours, escalating tensions between rival party workers. The first incident involved a BJP worker who was assaulted with an iron rod in the Labutala area near Sealdah Railway Station under the Muchipara police station jurisdiction.
BJP Worker Attacked in Labutala
The victim, Biplab Nag, a resident of Ward 50 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and known to be close to BJP Baranagar MLA Sajal Ghosh, was attacked on Wednesday night. According to local BJP functionaries, miscreants allegedly affiliated with the Trinamool Congress carried out the assault. Nag was talking with acquaintances when a group of young men attacked them with iron rods, striking him on the head from behind. He collapsed, bleeding, and was taken to the hospital by local residents, where he received multiple stitches.
Nag claimed that he and his family had been receiving threats even before the elections. A reception-cum-felicitation for MLA Ghosh, who is also the KMC councilor of Ward 50, is scheduled for next Sunday, and party workers were discussing preparations when the attack occurred. BJP MLA Ghosh alleged that the Trinamool Congress planned the attack to disrupt the event. However, TMC leaders denied the allegation, calling it a local dispute. Muchipara police have initiated an investigation.
TMC Worker Also Injured
TMC councilor Biswarup Dey of Ward 48 reported that one of his workers, Dipan Saha, a booth agent, is in critical condition at the Medical College. Saha was first beaten by some boys from Ward 50, and when his brother arrived, he was also assaulted. Dey stated, "I don't want to politicize this, but our booth agent was attacked."
Home Invasion in Parnasree
In a separate incident, an early morning armed home invasion occurred in the Parnasree area. A local resident and his son were assaulted inside their residence by an alleged Trinamool-backed mob carrying iron rods and sticks. When a neighbor intervened, the attackers brandished weapons and threatened the families. They demanded an extortion payout of Rs 10 lakh and threatened to set the property on fire if the cash was not delivered.
Assault in Sinthi Police Station Area
The Sinthi police station area saw an assault on Dum Dum Road. According to police sources, a group of local miscreants, described as TMC-turned-BJP men, gathered outside a woman's house, shouting abuses to insult her modesty. They repeatedly kicked the boundary wall and entrance door, smashed the property's letter box, and issued explicit death threats against the complainant and her husband before fleeing.
Police have registered formal FIRs in all cases and launched a multi-pronged hunt to track down the fleeing miscreants.
