Two groups of people, alleged to be rival factions of the Trinamul Congress, clashed over control of the Babuijore gram panchayat in Birbhum’s Lokpur on Friday afternoon.
As at least 100 crude bombs exploded against the two-storey building of the gram panchayat office, Trinamul leader and gram pradhan Nabadwip Mondal hid himself behind an iron almirah and desperately sought police help as he feared for his life. There were 17 others present in the panchayat office at the time of the attack.
“It was a close brush with death. I, along with 17 others, had to hide behind an iron almirah to save our lives as the bombs were being hurled targeting my room. We had closed the door and window in time and that saved us,” said Nabadwip and added that they felt like suffocating as smoke triggered by the explosion of crude bombs had filled the room.
A source said the two Trinamul factions — one headed by Abdur Rahaman and other by Kedar Ghosh — had been fighting over who would control the Babuijore gram panchayat.
The source said a group of people had gone to the panchayat office around 1.30pm on Friday. They barged into the pradhan’s room and started ransacking it. Following resistance by supporters of the panchayat chief, the attackers left the office.
“The attack was pre-planned and around 100 goons armed with bombs and firearms had gathered outside the panchayat office,” said Nabadwip.
Soon after the attackers were driven out of the building and the door was looked, crude bombs began to hit the panchayat office building at short intervals.
Seeking to refute charges of delay, Birbhum district police chief Shyam Singh said: “The police had reached the spot on time and brought the situation under control.” The SP said raids were on to arrest those involved in the clash.
A car belonging to Nabadwip and at least six motorbikes parked outside the building were vandalised.
Local Trinamul president Abdur Rahaman, whose right-hand man Nabadwip helms the Babuijore gram panchayat, said: “The goons were aides to Ujjwal Haque Kaderi who is an accused in several criminal cases. He is trying to take control over the panchayat. It was a fierce attack on us. We have identified a dozen of attackers and will lodge a complaint.”
Trinamul leader Kedar Ghosh, who belongs to the Ujjawal Haque Kaderi faction, said: “The clash had nothing to do with political rivalry. A group of people went to the panchayat office demanding a road and they were driven out. Angry villagers had attacked the gram panchayat in retaliation.”
A local Trinamul leader owing allegiance to Kaderi, however, blamed the Rahaman faction for the violence.
“The incident would not have taken place if bombs were not hurled at us from the panchayat building. They also opened fire at us. It was a narrow escape for many of us,” he said.
Trinamul leader Kaderi also rejected the charges about his involvement in the violence. He, however, accused his rival group of corruption in running the panchayat.
Bikash Roy Chowdhury, a Trinamul district vice-president and observer of the area, said: “The police would take action against those who were behind the attack on the panchayat office irrespective of their political colour.”
The police said they did not find any evidence of bullets being used in the violence. A police officer said no one had been injured in the violence.