Bolpur, April 24: A man was killed and over 450 huts were torched or damaged during clashes through the day between CPM and Trinamul Congress supporters in four villages of Nanoor, Birbhum.

Police said the trouble started around 6am when Trinamul activists set ablaze houses in CPM-controlled Palandi village, 230km from Calcutta. As the news spread, armed CPM cadres went to adjoining Sherpur, where Trinamul holds the sway. The violence soon spread to two other villages.

A district official said at least 450 houses were damaged, though the home secretary put the figure at a little over 100.

Birbhum district police chief Rabindranath Mukherjee identified the dead as Saidullah Sheikh, 30, a farmhand. He was shot in the head.

Five people have been arrested, Mukherjee added, without identifying their party affiliations.

A Trinamul team will tour the affected areas tomorrow. The party claimed Saidullah was a Trinamul supporter.