One of the Bloc supporters at Sitai block hospital. (Main Uddin Chisti)

Balurghat/Cooch Behar, May 9: The RSP in South Dinajpur has accused its senior ally in the Left Front, the CPM, of assaulting one of its women supporters, which led to her hospitalisation.

In Cooch Behar, the Forward Bloc has alleged that police and RAF personnel on the instigation of the CPM have beaten up its party members without provocation. In both the cases, the victims were campaigning for their respective parties in the run-up to the panchayat elections.

The RSP MLA from Kusmandi, Narmada Roy, said 42-year-old Anita Singh Debnath had been attacked last evening.

“She had almost reached her home in Mahipal village after campaigning, when a group of CPM members attacked her. She was alone and they encircled her and told her not to campaign for our party. They tried to outrage her modesty and when she protested, they started to beat her up,” Roy said.

The RSP leader said a few months ago Anita had undergone an appendectomy and her attackers kicked her in the stomach. “Those who beat her up knew that she had a surgery recently,” Roy said. She has been admitted to the Kusmandi hospital.

The MLA said the CPM was sure that it would fare badly in the polls and was now directly attacking the RSP supporters. An FIR has been lodged with the Kusmandi police station last night, he said.

CPM leader from Kusmandi Shyamal Roy denied the involvement of his party in the attack.

“I have found out that the incident was a fallout of a family dispute and the RSP wants to take advantage of it for political gains,” the CPM leader said. He said a complaint has been filed against Anita for disturbing the peace of the neighbourhood.

The inspector-in-charge of Kusmandi police station, Amitabha Chanda, said he had received both the complaints and an investigation was on.

In the Sitai area of Cooch Behar district, 25 Bloc supporters were injured after they were beaten up by the police and the RAF in more than one incident last night.

Bloc district secretary Udayan Guha, who visited the area this morning, has threatened to call a 24-hour bandh in the district if the inspector-in-charge of the Sitai police station was not transferred immediately.

“It is under instructions from Alimuddin Street that the police are selectively targeting our party members in areas where the CPM has no influence. I have sent a report to our state secretary, Ashok Ghosh,” Guha said.

He alleged that around 11pm yesterday, at Kayerbari and Paschimbhawali villages in the Sitai block, people were sitting out in the open when the inspector-in-charge, Nakul Das, arrived with a group of RAF men. “They suddenly started mercilessly beating up the men with their batons. Seven of them are still in hospital,” Guha said.

Cooch Behar police superintendent Anil Kumar said under the model code of conduct, no campaigning could be done after 9pm and it is also illegal to carry lathis in border areas where there is Section 144 after nightfall.

“The police had information that several groups of men armed with lathis had been gathering in the area and so they were dispersed,” Kumar said.