The injured were taken to a hospital in Uluberia and the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

District Superintendent of Police Neeraj Kumar Singh, however, sought to play down the incident and said it was not a serious matter.

According to sources, the clash took place in the trouble-prone Nabagram gram panchayat area — a Bloc stronghold — where sporadic incidents have been taking placing for the last one week.

“A group cleaning a drain in Chokpoliya found the locals objecting to it, saying the drain would be diverted to their disadvantage. A fight ensued in which around 10 houses were damaged,” a source said.

Among those injured was Howrah Zilla Parishad vice-president Ajay Mondal’s father Mahadev, who was living in one of the houses. Mondal, who was elected on a Bloc ticket last time, said the attack was a CPM ploy to regain lost ground. Also seriously injured was Narain Mohanty, a member of the Forward Bloc’s steering committee.