The brother of a resident of the cooperative housing society in New Town where a St Xavier’s College teacher stays has been arrested in connection with the assault on the teacher and his family.

Ankur Roy, the head of the chemistry department at St Xavier’s College, had lodged a complaint with New Town police station on the night of November 17 against one of his neighbours, a teacher of a Malda college.

He had alleged that the teacher’s relatives were involved in the attack on him and his family over parking of vehicles.

Murshed Alam, in his late 20s, the brother of the Malda college teacher, was arrested on Saturday based on Roy’s complaint.

Alam hails from Raghunathganj in Murshidabad and he had been staying at his brother’s fourth-floor flat in the housing society in AL Block, an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.

Roy is the head of the chemistry department at St Xavier’s College. His wife is a teacher at another college.

Roy knows Alam and he had named him in the complaint, police said.

In his complaint, Roy had said that he returned home with his wife, son and daughter after a medical check-up and parked his car at “the usual spot in the parking lot of his AL Block flat”.

After parking the vehicle as his wife and children began walking towards the lift, at least five men, led by Alam, attacked them with iron pipes, he had alleged in the complaint.

The men fled as neighbours came to their rescue. They had taken Roy and his family to the Salt Lake Sub-divisional Hospital where he was given first aid. He later went to a private hospital off the Bypass with his family.

On Saturday, Roy told Metro that he was happy as the police had arrested the man who had led the attack on him and his family. “The brutality of the attack still haunts me. They had hammers, iron pipes… they did not even spare my children. My wife has been left with a broken arm; both of us cannot walk properly as we were hit repeatedly on our legs. I hope the other men are arrested soon,” Roy said.

Alam’s family members have filed a counter complaint alleging they were assaulted by Roy and his family at New Town police station, an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.

Cops are questioning Alam and a search is on for the other men who were part of the attack, another officer said.

Alam has been charged with various sections of the IPC, including 307 (attempt to murder), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman to outrage her modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 326 (causing grievous hurt using weapons).

The charges carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in jail.