KOLKATA: Two crude bombs were hurled and shots fired near the house of former Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh at Jagaddal in North 24 Parganas late on Wednesday, police said.
One person, identified as Saddam Ansari, sustained injuries to his leg in the incident and was taken to a state-run hospital in North 24 Parganas.
Singh said he was at his office on Wednesday night when they heard gun shots. “When we looked outside, we saw people running towards the Megha crossing. We also went there. The moment we reached Meghna crossing, a few more shots were fired. The police were also there,” Singh told media persons on Thursday.
“A few minutes later at least two bombs were hurled at a house near my residence. While one exploded, the second didn’t. This is, however, not the first time that such incidents have taken place near my residence,” Singh said.
Barrackpore Police Commissioner Ajay Thakur said the situation was under control. “Those involved will not be spared… legal action will be taken against the culprits,” he said, according to PTI.
Police said Arjun Singh was summoned to the Jagaddal police station on Thursday morning in connection with the incident but he had refused.
Singh alleged that Namit Singh, son of a local Trinamool Congress councillor, was behind the attack,
Somnath Shyam, TMC MLA from Jagaddal told reporters Arjun Singh was not the victim but the one instigating the violence. “A fight broke out between two groups of jute mill workers. Arjun Singh went to the spot with his goons and fired. One sustained bullet injury. Arjun Singh himself led the attack,” Shyam told reporters.
The incident is part of a continuing power struggle in the area.
Singh was a four-time TMC legislator from Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas district before he joined the BJP and wrested the local Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat in 2019 general elections from the TMC’s sitting MP Dinesh Trivedi in 2019. Singh contested again from the Barrackpore seat but lost to TMC’s Partha Bhowmick in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Two separate cases have been registered. Some people are being questioned, a police officer said.
A large police contingent, including Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, has been deployed in the area to control the situation.