Shots were allegedly fired and bombs thrown near the home of Arjun Singh, a former member of Parliament and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in West Bengal’s Bhatpara, North 24 Parganas district, police reported. The incident occurred on Wednesday night, leading to the summoning of Singh by Jagaddal police. Singh accused the attackers of being “sheltered by the (ruling) Trinamool Congress (TMC),” an allegation the TMC has denied.

The violence reportedly began when two groups clashed near the Meghna mill in Bhatpara. Singh was allegedly at Majdur Bhawan at the time and rushed to the scene after local TMC councillor Sunita Singh’s son, Namit Singh, reportedly arrived there. According to Singh, miscreants fired shots at him before fleeing. He claimed to have chased them to Meghna More in Bhatpara, adding that bombs were also thrown, and shots were fired in front of police officers.

In response, Somnath Shyam, a TMC MLA from Jagaddal, dismissed the accusations, alleging that Singh himself was involved in the altercation and had fired shots as well.

One person, identified as Saddam, was injured during the incident and was initially taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a hospital in Kolkata. The Barrackpore Police Commissionerate launched an investigation, and a heavy police presence has since been deployed at Meghna More.