Alleged Trinamool Congress workers vandalised the car of BJP MLA from Balarampur in Purulia and pelted party workers with stones on Friday when they were campaigning for Parivartan Yatra scheduled to be held in the area on Sunday.

Six BJP workers were injured and hospitalised.

BJP MLA Baneshwar Mahato alleged that Trinamool workers beat up his party men without any provocation when they were putting up party flags at Rasuldih village in Balarampur as part of their campaign for the 10-day Parivartan Yatra that rolled out from several parts of Bengal.

The Parivartan Yatra is scheduled to reach Balarampur Assembly constituency on Saturday night, and a public meeting will be held in the area on Sunday, where BJP leader Dilip Ghosh will be present.

“Five of our party workers were injured when Trinamool Congress-backed goons beat them up with bamboo sticks and stones. They also hurled stones at my car when I reached the area to save my workers. They ransacked my car. I would have been killed if the central security guards were not with me,”
said Mahato.

Sources said some villagers from the minority-dominated Rasuldih allegedly prevented the BJP workers from putting up party flags in the locality, following which an altercation ensued
between them.

“Soon, some villagers from the area started throwing stones at the BJP workers and also accused them of snatching their voting rights and fundamental rights. The BJP workers too retaliated,” said the source.

Mahato alleged that the incident was held in front of the policemen, but the cops fled instead of intervening.

However, the police denied the charge and said the inspector-in-charge (IC) of Balarampur police station, Arnab Guha, suffered injury while trying to save the BJP workers and chased away those attacking them.

“Our police team, led by the IC, intervened immediately after the incident and chased away the warring groups. The IC suffered minor injury in the brickbats,” said a police officer in Balarampur.

The police said a large contingent of policemen was deployed in the area to avoid any further trouble.

A Trinamool leader in Balarampur denied the charges levelled against them and accused the MLA of provoking unrest in the area during Ramzan.

A similar incident occurred during a campaign for Parivartan Yatra in West Burdwan’s Barabani on Thursday.

BJP leaders in Asansol alleged that the “unprovoked attack” by Trinamool-backed goons on their partymen happened in front of the police, but they did not intervene.

“The central security guards with our leaders protected us. Many of us were supposed to be killed if the central security guards were not with us,” said Krishnendu Mukherjee, a BJP leader
in Asansol.

However, the police said a large contingent has been deployed in all areas through which the BJP chariot will pass to ensure security.