The two sides confronted publicly after members of Trinamool-run Sonachura panchayat lodged complaints against five BUPC leaders and got them arrested for creating disturbance.

Significantly, local Trinamool leaders have also disowned them terming them “miscreants aligned with the Maoists”. It is to be noted that during the peak of the Nandigram agitation, it would be difficult to separate BUPC members from the Trinamool as most of them were members of both the outfits.

It all began with BUPC members alleging rampant corruption in the Sonachura panchayat which was won by the Trinamool in the last rural bodies election. The BUPC had called a bandh in the area today to protest against “the corrupt practices of Trinamool leaders”. They took out rallies that resulted in open confrontation with Trinamool cadres.

At around 10 am, around 60 to 70 villagers under the banner of the BUPC took out a rally in Sonachura. Two and half hours later, a group of 10 to 15 Trinamool cadres intercepted the rally and lodged a complaint against BUPC members at Nandigram police station for forcibly shutting down the shops in the area. Later, five BUPC leaders — Moni Sit, Prabir Maity, Nantu Das, Mohan Mondal and Swadesh Maity — were arrested while they were staging demonstrations.

“All of us belong to the Trinamool but we revolted against the corruption in the Trinamool-run panchayat here. For the last seven months, the villagers have not received money for their work under NREGA. No road is being constructed here,” said Prabir Maity after he was arrested. “We resisted the land acquisition in Nandigram as we were told if the CPM is ousted from the area, the area will be developed. However, at present the situation is worse,” he added.

He said the Trinamool will disown us as the party “don’t need us anymore”.

“Without BUPC they (Trinamool) could have never won the battle of Nandigram. We have Moni Sit with us and his brother, Khokan Sit, is a senior Trinamool leader in the area,” he added.

Abu Taher, local Trinamool leader who played a key role during the Nandigram agitation said the arrested persons neither belong to Trinamool nor BUPC. “They are local miscreants linked with the Maoists,” Taher said.