A Trinamul worker suffered bullet injuries on Tuesday night when members of a rival construction syndicate allegedly fired at him in Entally's Motijheel.
The turf fight in the congested neighbourhood, which has seen a construction boom over the past six to seven years, once again brought to light the rivalry within the Trinamul Congress over share of spoils from the business of building syndicates.
Mohammed Mustakim, alias Bablu, polling agent of local Trinamul councillor Dipali Das in last month's civic elections, is undergoing treatment at NRS hospital.
Mustakim's group and that of his rival Mohammed Zubair, alias Bapi, have been involved in several minor clashes to control supply of construction material and raise illegal buildings in the area since December.
The tension reached a flashpoint on Tuesday when officers of Entally police station picked up an associate of Bapi, Chunni Lal, for his involvement in an earlier case.
Bapi held Mustakim responsible for the arrest and attacked him near his house on Convent Road.
Members of both gangs fought a pitched battle with crude bombs and soda bottles flying around the neighbourhood. The clash lasted around 45 minutes from 10pm, forcing shops to down shutters and residents to rush for cover.
The Entally police said Zubair fired two bullets that hit Mustakim on his right leg and abdomen. "When Mustakim collapsed, Zubair and his associates thought he had died and fled the spot," said an associate of Mustakim, whose elder brother Mohammed Kalim is chairman of the party's minority unit in Ward 56.
Mustakim was taken to NRS hospital, where doctors performed a surgery to remove the bullets.
Councillor Dipali Das admitted that Mustakim was her polling agent but denied helping him or his brother in syndicate-related activities. "Neither am I involved in any syndicate nor do I provide support to anybody involved in the supply of construction material. Mustakim was my polling agent but if there is a complaint against him, I will recommend action," Das said.
Motijheel, surrounded by Entally, Beleghata and Tangra on three sides, has buildings four or five storeys tall coming up in lanes less than eight feet wide. "The demand for houses is high but only small plots of land are available. Most of the construction is illegal," said a promoter with three projects in Convent Lane. The price of property in the area ranges between Rs 3,200 and Rs 3,500 per square foot because of proximity to Sealdah station and the Park Circus connector.
Factionalism within Trinamul has spilled on the streets on several occasions since the party came to power in 2011. Last October, two Trinamul workers from rival groups were shot dead at Bhangar in South 24-Parganas after an alleged battle for control of a panchayat. In August last year, an aide of New Town MLA Sabyasachi Dutta was shot at, allegedly by supporters of Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.
