BJP-TMC clashes during saffron party's 12-hour bandh

BJP leaders said the attack in Bhatpara had been carried out to kill their leader, Priyangu Pandey, but instead injured party worker Ravi Singh, who was accompanying him in the car

Subhashis Chaudhuri, Snehamoy Chakraborty, Calcutta, 29.08.24 : Supporters of the BJP and the Trinamool Congress during a clash in Basirhat on Wednesday.: Pashupati Das

A BJP worker suffered serious bullet injuries on the head when alleged Trinamool Congress supporters opened fire at a car in Bhatpara, North 24-Parganas, on Wednesday morning.

The car was carrying a local BJP leader who was going to join a march in support of the party’s 12-hour bandh.

The BJP had called the shutdown in protest against the police action during the march by an “apolitical” outfit to Nabanna on Tuesday.

BJP leaders said the attack in Bhatpara had been carried out to kill their leader, Priyangu Pandey, but instead injured party worker Ravi Singh, who was accompanying him in the car. The goons allegedly hurled crude bombs at the car before opening fire.

Ravi was initially admitted to a local hospital but later shifted to a private healthcare facility in Calcutta as his condition deteriorated.

BJP supporters block NH10 in Matigara, Siliguri, on Wednesday. : Passang Yolmo

“As soon as our car stopped because of traffic congestion, 50-60 people surrounded us. The goons hurled at least seven crude bombs at the car before firing not less than six shots,” said Pandey.

“A bullet pierced through the car’s windshield and hit our party worker Ravi Singh. This was a conspiracy by the TMC,” Pandey said.

Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, who posted a video of the purported attack on his X handle, demanded stringent action against

the culprits.

Former Barrackpore MP and BJP leader Arjun Singh said: “A police officer in the rank of assistant commissioner was present at the scene but allowed the goons to flee.”

Trinamool dismissed the allegation, claiming no such incident occurred in Bhatpara on Wednesday.

“There has been no confirmation of any firing in that area. It was staged by the BJP to tarnish the TMC’s image. The video that went viral was likely shot in 2019,”

said Jagatdal TMC MLA Somenath Shyam.

However, Barrackpore police commissioner Alok Rajoria confirmed that the firing had occurred on Wednesday morning and said four persons who were seen in the video had been detained.

“One person sustained a minor head injury, though it is not yet confirmed whether it was because of the firing,” Rajoria said.

Not only in Bhatpara but several pockets in Bengal also witnessed skirmishes between BJP and TMC workers on Wednesday. While BJP workers hit the streets to make the strike successful, TMC activists swung into action to ensure normalcy.

At least eight BJP workers, who blocked railway tracks at Hooghly’s Hindmotor station along with their 300 party colleagues, were injured when Trinamool workers mounted an attack to thwart their blockade and restore normalcy.

A BJP leader claimed that violent TMC-backed goons arrived with bamboo sticks and started beating the bandh supporters to clear the railway tracks while raising slogans against the strike. The injured BJP workers were admitted to Uttarpara State General Hospital. A source said that three BJP workers sustained serious injuries. A TMC leader claimed that two of their party workers were injured following an attack by the BJP.

BJP and TMC workers were also involved in a scuffle in Hooghly’s Konnagar as the ruling party leaders accused the saffron camp of forcing people to shut their shops.

At least six BJP workers, picketing in support of the strike, were injured by TMC workers in the Shibpur area of South Dinajpur’s Buniyadpur municipality. Two of those BJP workers, who sustained head injuries, were admitted to a local hospital. However, TMC leaders denied such charges of attack.

Workers of the two rival parties were involved in skirmishes or scuffles in different areas like Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, and Malda in north Bengal.

The saffron camp alleged that the police and TMC workers on Wednesday jointly put their best efforts to thwart the general strike called in protest of the brutal attack on the protestors who took part in Tuesday’s march to Nabanna.

“It may be that the government and police would be activated as the strike was called by an Opposition party. However, we saw the TMC field their harmads (goons) to attack our party workers, who were picketing peacefully in support of the democratic bandh. Police and Trinamool workers jointly tortured the bandh supporters as the ruling party lost its support base,” said BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar.

Despite this, Majumdar thanked the people of Bengal for supporting the strike and making the call successful. However, the impact of the bandh was partial across the state. Although private buses were off the road and the number of vehicles was minimal, the impact was not significant in marketplaces or other business establishments in most of the districts in both north and south Bengal.

However, the BJP’s strike was partially successful as the party workers significantly blocked railway tracks in at least 30 stations in districts like Birbhum, Hooghly, and North and South 24-Parganas, leaving daily commuters in trouble.

A group of daily passengers joined the bandh supporters in Hooghly’s Mankundu, demanding justice for the R.G. Kar victim. The movement of a dozen trains was disrupted due to the blockade at Mankundu and other stations in Hooghly. The bandh

supporters allegedly hurled stones at police when the cops went to disperse them from the tracks. Police were able to clear the tracks after over two hours by resorting to a lathi charge and using tear gas shells.

Trinamool leaders, like Jalpaiguri municipality chairman Saikat Chatterjee, faced protests from a section of traders when he asked them to keep their establishments open.

Additional reporting by Avijit Sinha in Siliguri