KOLKATA: A TMC leader was attacked by unidentified persons in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday, with the state's ruling party pointing fingers at the BJP.
An officer of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said three bike-borne miscreants opened fire on Asim Roy, a TMC leader in Bhatpara area of the district.
The bullets, however, missed Roy, following which the gunmen hit him with the butt of a revolver and left him bleeding on the ground, the officer said.
A manhunt has been launched to nab the attackers, he said.
Roy, after being administered first aid at a local hospital, told reporters that he was on way to the party office when the miscreants attacked him.
"An influential BJP leader in the Barrackpore belt has hatched a conspiracy to eliminate me. But he can't weaken the TMC or its activists," he said.
BJP MP from Bhatpara, Arjun Singh, however, claimed that the incident was a fallout of TMC infighting, as its "members are vying for control over the real estate market" in the district.
"The ruling party mercenaries run an extortion syndicate, affecting small businessmen and common people. The shootout is related to a fight over spoils," Singh said.
Making light of Singh's assertions, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh alleged that the saffron camp, "scared" by the popularity his party enjoys, was carrying out such attacks.
"We want the police to arrest the perpetrators at the earliest," Ghosh added.