Fresh political tensions surfaced across West Bengal after four leaders and workers associated with the All India Trinamool Congress were arrested in separate incidents over the past 24 hours.
The allegations against the accused range from attempted murder and assault on police personnel to threatening political rivals with firearms and involvement in post-poll vandalism.
TMC Councillor Arrested Over Alleged Assault On Cop
One of the major incidents was reported from Serampore in Hooghly district, where unrest reportedly broke out over a locked Anganwadi centre.
According to allegations, police personnel accompanied by central forces had reached the area when Trinamool councillor Rajesh Shah and his associates allegedly confronted them. During the altercation, Assistant Sub-Inspector Nataraj Singh Ray of Serampore police station was allegedly assaulted and suffered a broken nose.
Police later arrested Rajesh Shah, a councillor from Ward No. 10, along with two associates in connection with the incident.
Reacting to the development, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, the victorious BJP candidate from Serampore, said, “The government has changed, and this (BJP) government wants the administration to work independently. I have heard that the police were assaulted. Only one party can do this kind of work, and that is Trinamool.”
Responding to the allegations, Rajesh Shah said, “It was about an ICDS building. We had resolved that building in the neighborhood. The BJP has occupied it. I went to object to it... what happens, you know... in political changes.”
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TMC Area President Arrested In Attempted Murder Case
In another incident from Gosaba in South 24 Parganas district, police arrested Paritosh Halder, identified as a Trinamool area president, on allegations of attempting to murder a party worker.
Separately, in the Canning West Assembly constituency of South 24 Parganas, a Trinamool-backed miscreant was arrested for allegedly threatening BJP supporters with a firearm.
Police said a firearm and one round of ammunition were seized from the accused during the arrest.
Vandalism Allegations Surface In Jalpaiguri
Meanwhile, in Jalpaiguri in North Bengal, allegations emerged that local Trinamool leaders and their associates vandalised several houses in Ward No. 16 of the Jalpaiguri Municipality over claims that residents had voted for the BJP.
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Following a written complaint, Jalpaiguri Kotwali police arrested Abhijit Sinha, identified as the district secretary of Trinamool and a lawyer by profession.
However, when produced before the Jalpaiguri Sessions Court, the accused leader was granted bail.
The incidents come amid continuing political unrest and heightened tensions in several parts of Bengal following recent electoral developments in the state.