Former Trinamul Congress MLA Paresh Pal was injured when a mentally deranged youth who had come to meet him on Wednesday morning hit him on the forehead with a spoon used for serving curd.

Saurav Chatterjee, a Tangra resident, was detained but later released as Pal did not lodge any complaint.

The police said Saurav, with father Gurupada and sister Papiya, came to meet Pal in Trinamul’s Kankurgachi office around 9am. “Gurupada told Pal that his other daughter Priyanka had committed suicide on Wednesday morning and that cops were looking for them,” said an officer of Phoolbagan police station.

Pal assured the trio that he would look into the matter. Gurupada then asked for food, saying he and his children were hungry. Pal arranged for sweets for them from a nearby shop.

“Gurupada, without any provocation, started abusing Pal. The leader asked him why he was behaving strangely. Saurav suddenly picked up the spoon and threw it at Pal,” said the officer.

Gurupada and Papia ran away but residents and party activists caught hold of Saurav.

“The family has a history of mental disorder. Today’s incident was just another manifestation of it,” the officer added.