The police say that an affray was witnessed at Basanti between the supporters of the CPM and its Left Front partner Revolutionary Socialist Party, following which a house was set on fire. “When the police went there to control the violence, the policemen were pelted at with stones and bricks. Ten policemen received injuries in which two were seriously injured and were brought to Kolkata for treatment,” said Parveen Kumar, SP, South 24 Parganas district. According to the police, the miscreants also snatched away a rifle from a policeman. “We are on the lookout for them and hope to arrest them and recover the rifle soon.” Ten persons have been arrested so far.
Condemning the incident, Minister for PWD and RSP leader Kshiti Goswamy said, “The CPM wanted to terrorise our voters. It’s a serious matter.”
At Kultoli, clashes erupted between the CPM and the SUCI, forcing the police to lathicharge to curb the violence. Debaprasad Sarkar, SUCI MLA from Kultoli said, “The CPM cadres have unleashed a reign of terror. About 30 of our supporters have been injured, out of which10 were shot at. Even though there were widespread bombings and firings, the police remained mute spectators.”