Sultan Ali being taken to the Cooch Behar hospital. Picture by Main Uddin Chisti

Cooch Behar, April 14: A series of clashes between the Congress and CPM supporters since last night has injured at least 10 persons. Four of them have been admitted to the Dinhata subdivisional hospital.

Anil Kumar, the Cooch Behar district superintendent of police, said both the parties have lodged complaints. An inquiry has begun but no one has been arrested so far. “The situation is now under control,” he added.

According to police, both the parties were holding meetings for the panchayat elections at Nabani village — only 100m away — in the Geetaldaha gram panchayat area last night.

Around 8.30pm, Hasanujjaman, a local Congress leader, crossed the house where the CPM was holding the meeting. He was on his way to the Congress meeting.

The CPM members caught Hasanujjaman alleging that he had been eavesdropping on their “election strategy” and reportedly attacked him with iron rods and bamboo. He is now under treatment at the hospital with head injuries. The Congress leader, however, has denied the charge.

As the news of the assault on Hasanujjaman spread, Congress supporters attacked the house where the CPM meeting was on. A clash that ensued had injured members from both the parties. CPM member Sabed Ali was hospitalised, the police said.

The secretary of the Dinhata local committee of the CPM, Tarapada Barman, alleged that the Congress attack on their members was “pre-planned with an eye to vitiate the pre-poll atmosphere”.

The upa-pradhan of the Geetaldaha gram panchayat and a local Congress leader, Lakshmi Prasad Kalwar, said the CPM members had attacked Ayub Ali, who was taking Hasanujjaman to the hospital on a motor cycle. Ali was also hospitalised.

Today, CPM supporters of Geetaldaha brought out a procession to protest against the Congress’s “pre-planned” attack on them last night. They allegedly attacked Hasanujjaman’s 65-year-old father Sultan Ali who was returning home at that time. Sultan was admitted to the Dinhata hospital with injuries on his head and was taken to the Cooch Behar district hospital for a scan.

Congress MLA from Sitai (Geetaldaha falls in Sitai constituency) Fazle Haque visited the troubled area. “The CPM is scared of the growing strength of the Congress,” he said, demanding the arrest of the attackers within two days.