A trader and her son in Alipurduar district were stabbed and injured by a criminal who barged into their house early on Saturday.

Purnima Pal, a supplier of construction materials, and Prasanna, her son, suffered severe injuries and are under treatment at a private nursing home in Cooch Behar. Both are reportedly critical.

Police have started a probe but are yet to ascertain the motive of the attack. The gold and cash present at the home were untouched by the criminal.

What could be gathered from the statements of the injured Purnima and her son is that both were in deep sleep at their house in Durgabari, under the Samuktala police station, when around 1am, a person in half-pants and a T-shirt broke the locks and entered the house. He had his face covered with a towel.

He took out a knife and attacked Purnima. As she raised an alarm, her son Prasanna, a college student, came for help. The person attacked him, too.

Both collapsed on the floor but kept shouting for help. The attacker fled.

Some neighbours woke up and rushed the duo to the local health centre in Samuktala. There, doctors referred them to the district hospital in Alipurduar.

As both the mother and the son suffered injuries in their abdomen, they were shifted to a private nursing home in due course, in critical care treatment.

“We heard them shouting for help and found both lying on the floor, bleeding profusely. We immediately took them to the health centre,” said Mridul Dey, a neighbour.

“We have no inkling why they were attacked. The police should find out,” he added.

Police officers said they were yet to know the motive. There was cash and gold in the bedroom, but the attacker didn’t touch those. “It is evident that this attack was for purposes of robbery,” said an officer.

Police sources said that as there was no CCTV camera in the house, it was taking time for them to identify the attacker. “Investigators are also waiting for the victims to recover. They will then talk to both in detail to gather information,” said a source.