Trinamul supporters outside CPM leader Anuj Pandey’s abandoned house in Lalgarh’s Dharampur on Monday. The mob, numbering 2,000, hoisted a party flag on the house. Pandey, a Netai firing accused, is on the run. (Samir Mondal)

May 24: A CPM worker and his teenage son were burnt alive in a Murshidabad village while a Trinamul Congress activist had his palm chopped off in Malda, the incidents taking place hours after Mamata Banerjee claimed there had been no violence after the election results.

Mamata had said at Writers’ Buildings yesterday: “There has been no violence in the state, nor has there been any political clashes. I am saying this after looking into the matter myself.”

In Murshidabad’s Kapasdanga, alleged Congress supporters locked up Mahibul Sheikh and his son Asharul in their home and set it on fire.

Police found the charred bodies of the 55-year-old farmer and his 18-year-old son late last night.

Mahibul and his son had protested when some Congress supporters walking in a procession burst crackers in front of their home last night.

The procession was to celebrate the Congress’s victory in Rejinagar, within which the village falls, in the Assembly elections.

The duo’s protests led to an altercation with the Congress supporters. But local Congress leaders stepped in to calm tempers.

Around 10pm, a group of at least 40 alleged Congress activists assembled near Mahibul’s home and hurled bombs at it. Mahibul’s 75-year-old mother, his teenage daughter and his grandson received splinter injuries. They escaped to a neighbour’s home. But Mahibul and his son stayed put.

“The mob locked the house from outside and set it on fire. The mob did not allow any neighbour to go to Mahibul and his son’s rescue. They also burst bombs in front of the neighbours’ houses so that none dared to come out,” Nazrul Islam, a neighbour, said.

Murshidabad police chief B.L. Meena said: “We have launched raids in and around the village and detained seven persons for interrogation.”

District CPM secretary Nripen Chowdhury alleged that the Congress had “unleashed a reign of terror on CPM workers”. “We have called a 12-hour bandh tomorrow in Murshidabad,” Chowdhury said.

Humayun Kabir, the local MLA, denied that Congress workers were involved in the incident. “Congress workers are not involved in the murders. In 2009, Mahibul had led a group of men to murder Sahabul Sheikh. The incident could be an act of revenge by Sahabul’s friends and relatives,” Kabir said.

In Malda’s Jotpatta, 28-year-old Trinamul worker Biswajit Mondol had his left palm chopped off last night on a deserted road by a gang of four who had called him out of his home to give dues.

Biswajit’s family has alleged that the attack was carried out by CPM-backed goons who sought to avenge Trinamul MLA Sabitri Mitra’s win in Manikchak.

The police, however, said the assault was a fallout of business rivalry.

Biswajit had been called to Jotpatta More around 7.30pm by Mithun Mondal and Pranab Mondol, the police said. Biswajit, who left home on a motorcycle, was flagged down midway by Mithun, Pranab and two others. They set upon him with sickles and his left palm was chopped off. He was hit several times on the head, and stabbed.

Mitra, the minister for women and social welfare, said: “Biswajit was very proactive in my campaigns and that is why he was attacked by CPM goons…. The CPM is trying to create terror in the area and are attacking our workers to regain lost ground.”

Additional superintendent of police Kalyan Mukherjee said the four accused were involved in the business of renting out decorative fittings, like Biswajit. “They had some differences and that is why the incident took place,” he said.