Police said one of them was injured in the second attack, apart from two of the CPM leaders’ escorts and a police driver. The Left Front has called a 12-hour district bandh on Thursday to protest against the attack.

In his FIR, the CPM’s Cooch Behar district secretary Chandi Pal alleged that he and his wife Jaba, who is also a party district secretariat member, were attacked at Tilakhana when they were on their way to a party meeting near Toofanganj, a TMC-dominated area. Pal alleged that a mini-truck carrying TMC supporters forced their car off the road into a ditch, after which they were thrashed by TMC supporters. Pal has named TMC district president R N Ghosh to be behind the attack, besides 60 others.

Police said they received a call from Pal, but even as they were being taken to Cooch Behar police station under police protection, the miscreants attacked them once again at Maruganj, outside Cooch Behar town. 

The Trinamool supporters allegedly surrounded the police van and attacked it with sticks, injuring a constable, two security personnel and the driver. The couple was later admitted to the Cooch Behar MJN Hospital for treatment.

As the news spread, Left Front supporters staged a demonstration in front of Cooch Behar Superintendent of Police DP Singh’s office. The chief minister has been informed about the incident.

Ghosh, however, denied that his party was involved in any attack on Pal. “Pal’s car had met with an accident when it tried to avoid a cow on the road. False charges are being levelled against the TMC,” he said.