A Trinamool Congress gram panchayat member has been arrested after a video showed him firing twice in the air during a clash between supporters of the ruling party and the Congress in Murshidabad’s Khargram on Wednesday afternoon.
The video was recorded from a cellphone atop a terrace at Diara Mallikpur.
Police arrested Indrani gram panchayat member Altamas Kabir and detained two others of Trinamool for their alleged role in the clash.
Around midday, a clash broke out between the two groups, of about 25 each. Amid the scuffle, Kabir allegedly brandished the gun and fired twice in the air.
In the scuffle, Congress’s panchayat samiti member Jeeta Khatun suffered injuries to the chest and was admitted to the Kandi subdivisional Hospital. Two others, one each from the Congress and Trinamool, were also injured.
“Trinamool is about to lose control of the Indrani gram panchayat, with 15 of its members joining the Congress at an Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury-led rally on May 4. The body’s chief, Shampa Haldar, and another member joined the Congress on April 27. That was the root of this trouble,” said a local resident.
Trinamool’s Khargram MLA Ashis Marjit claimed Kabir did not open fire and was being framed. “The video ought to be examined more carefully. Somebody else was responsible for the firing,” said Marjit.
