A group of Trinamool Congress supporters raised slogans and demonstrated on Friday when BJP MLAs visited a village in Dinhata 2 block of Cooch Behar district, where several incidents of vandalism and alleged assault had taken place.
A BJP team, including MLAs Malati Rava, Baren Barman, Sushil Roy and Deepak Barman and the party’s district president, Abhijit Barman, was visiting party worker Jitendra Nath Barman’s residence in Nazirhat’s Shalmara area around 1pm when they faced the protests.
The BJP claimed that Jitendra’s eight-month pregnant daughter Purabi Barman, who had been staying at her parental home, was physically attacked a day earlier.
The residences of BJP workers Malina Barman and Juthika Barman had also been vandalised on Thursday.
Eyewitnesses said a brief altercation broke out between the BJP leaders and Trinamool supporters, mostly women, right in front of police on Friday.
"The houses vandalised were of BJP leader Tarani Kanta Barman, BJP Mahila Morcha leader Malina Barman, panchayat member Juthika Barman and Jitendra Nath Barman. During the attack, Purabi Barman, Jitendra’s pregnant daughter, was reportedly kicked in the stomach, leading to heavy bleeding," said a source.
The BJP leadership later said she had to be shifted to a private hospital in Siliguri for treatment.
While the BJP team blamed Trinamool’s women supporters for the assault and accused the ruling party of political violence, Trinamool leaders rubbished the charges.
Pompa Roy Barman, the Trinamool chief of Nazirhat 2 panchayat, said the protest erupted because Bengali-speaking people were being harassed outside Bengal, and the BJP team visiting the village made derogatory remarks.
"The women were reacting spontaneously and no men were involved in the protest," she said.
Rupali Barman, the chief of the Trinamool-run Nazirhat 1 panchayt, said that no actual vandalism took place and accused the BJP of fabricating the story for financial gain.
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition, said Purabi Barman gave birth to a baby girl and both mother and child were stable.
“FIR has been filed, and complaints were sent to the 'National Commission for Women and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes'. The family is preparing to move court,” he wrote on social media.
Udayan Guha, the north Bengal development minister, said the protesting women were unarmed and not carrying party flags.