On 14 November, a large number of country bombs were hurled in a clash at Baharpur village in Sainthia area. Image for representation purpose only. photo credit: special arrangement
Several people, two of them seriously, were injured in a clash between two groups in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, following which 12 people were arrested, police said on Tuesday.
A police officer said a large number of crude bombs were hurled in the clash that broke out in Baharpur village of Sainthia area on Monday evening. He said several unexploded bombs were recovered from the area and were destroyed on Tuesday.
The BJP alleged that the clash took place between two local factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), while the ruling party in the state rejected the allegation and called it “a non-political clash that was the result of a personal feud”.
The injured were first taken to Siuri Hospital and from there two seriously injured were shifted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, their condition remains critical, the official said.
Siuri’s TMC MLA Bikash Chowdhary said, “The clash was a result of some local dispute. It was not a political clash.”
However, BJP district president Dhruba Saha claimed that such infighting has become routine within the TMC in Birbhum.
Superintendent of Police Nagendranath Tripathi told that so far seven people have been arrested and raids are on.
“Several country-made bombs have been seized from the area. A police picket has been set up in the village,” he said.
The bomb disposal squad defused several unexploded bombs recovered from the encounter site on Tuesday.
The situation in the area remained tense though under control on Tuesday. The 12 arrested would be produced before a Siuri court later in the day.