Districts on boil; rival factions also face heat

Kolkata: Large-scale political violence left one dead and scores injured in districts like North and South 24-Parganas, Hooghly, Burdwan, Bankura and West Midnapore in the last 24 hours.
A Trinamool supporter from Kakinara in North 24-Parhanas, Suraj Rao (30), was allegedly lynched by fellow party men on Thursday night. Rao was bursting crackers during a victory procession for Bhatpara Trinamool candidate Arjun Singh when rods and sticks landed on him.He died on the way to Naihati hospital. Locals alleged the perpetrators were fellow Trinamool supporters. Police said they were probing the case.
Alleged ruling party goons targeted Kamduni crusaders Mousumi Koyal and Tumpa Koyal who had dared to launch a movement against the Trinamool-led government over the rape and murder of a 20-year-old girl of their village. The local club in the village was also allegedly ransacked on Friday by the goons celebrating the victory of Trinamool Haroa candidate. Elsewhere, a CPM office was attacked near Barrackpore railway gate No. 14 and Gaighata. A Congress office bore the brunt of a similar attack in Basirhat.
Shots were fired at Nanoor, Birbhum when Trinamool workers Burhan Sk and Lal Sk were heading to the market at Kirnahar on Friday morning. Burhan received bullet wounds on his stomach and was admitted to Burdwan Medical College. Trinamool supporters led by the outgoing MLA Gadadhar Hazra demonstrated at Nanoor police station against alleged police inaction. Hazra lost the election from Nanoor. Subrata Bhattacharya, the Nanoor block president of TMC, said, "Burhan and Lal worked for our party in the assembly election despite threats from CPM."
In Joynagar, South 24-Parganas, Trinamool supporter Abdul Mannan Mollah's house was allegedly set ablaze by SUCI men angry over the ruling party wresting the seat from them for the first time in 40 years. In Hooghly's Furfurasharif, Chandernagore, Chinsurah, Arambagh and Jangipara, CPM offices in areas where Trinamool trailed the jote candidates were ransacked and burnt. Houses of two CPM agents were also attacked in Chinsurah.
In Burdwan, alleged Trinamool supporters attacked former Left Front MP Saidul Haque's house at Baburbag Khudirampally, ransacked a hotel and a shop owned by CPM supporters on B C Road beside Burdwan Sadar police station and Hatudewan Pirtola respectively.
In West Midnapore, more than a dozen CPM offices were taken over by Trinamool workers. Such is the terror among CPM cadres that some of them have put up a padlock on the door of the CPM zonal office in Belda under Narayangarh police station as they remain cooped inside. They have stocked up provisions that will last over a week.