Several injured in clash in Bengal's Birbhum, 12 arrested

Several people were injured, of them two seriously, in a clash between two groups in West Bengal's Birbhum district, following which 12 people were arrested, police said on Tuesday.


A large number of crude bombs were hurled in the clash that took place in Baharapur village in Sainthia area on Monday evening, a police officer said, adding several unexploded bombs were seized from the area and disposed of on Tuesday.

The BJP alleged that the clash took place between two local factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), while the ruling party in the state dismissed the charge and called it "an apolitical clash that was a result of a personal feud".

The officer said the injured persons were first taken to Siuri hospital, and from there, two of the critically injured persons were shifted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, adding that their condition remains serious.

Siuri's TMC legislator Bikash Chowdhury said, "The clash was a result of some local dispute. It was not a political clash."

BJP's district president Dhruba Saha, however, claimed that such intra-party clashes within the TMC have become a regular affair in Birbhum.

Superintendent of Police Nagendranath Tripathi said that seven people have been arrested so far and raids were underway.

"Several crude bombs have been seized from the area. A police picket has been set up in the village," he said.

Bomb squad disposed of several unexploded bombs recovered from the clash site on Tuesday.

The situation in the area remained tense though under control on Tuesday. The 12 arrested persons will be produced in a court in Siuri during the day.