KOLKATA:The bitter factional feud within the ruling TMC on Friday took an ugly turn in Howrah, following the death of a local party leader that triggered widespread violence involving rival TMC factions.
Party workers went on the rampage at Shalimar railway yard in Howrah, as news spread of the death of Vinode Singh, brother of Trinamool Congress councillor Benoy Singh, who had sustained bullet injuries during a gun fight with a rival Trinamool Congress faction led by Pradip Tewari on April 6.
However, no arrests have been made in the case. TMC workers owing allegiance to the Singh’s family set fire to Tewari’s car and several trailer trucks in front of the local police, who remained mute spectators.
Benoy Singh was elected to the Howrah Municipal Corporation on a Congress ticket and had joined the TMC, while Tewari, a former councillor belonging to the CPM-led Left Front, also joined the TMC.
State Agriculture Distribution Minister Arup Roy, who represents Howrah, however, denied that the violence was the outcome of factional feud within the party. He said, “This has nothing to do with politics. It is business rivalry and Tewari is a former CPM youth leader and not a member of our party.”
Tewari, however, countered, “I am very much part of the TMC and president of the party’s South Howrah unit. We were not involved in any gun fight.”
Normal life was hit as the violence drove ordinary people out of the streets. Work at the railway yard was also suspended after workers, who unloaded wagons fled the area.
Tension spread as Vinode Singh’s body reached the area in the evening, and more TMC workers joined in a procession. With the run-up to the elections to 144 wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation entering its final few hours , violence raged in various parts of the metropolis, including clashes involving the rival Trinamool Congress factions. State Election Commissioner S R Upadhyay instructed the city police to take action against local TMC leader Swapan Chakraborty at Cossipore in the Northern part of the city after a rebel TMC worker Munna Singh reached his office with injuries after being beaten up by partymen belonging to a rival TMC faction.
Meanwhile, the Opposition activists alleged attacks by the TMC workers, with the Calcutta High Court issuing instructions to the city police to provide security to the two BJP nominees for the KMC polls. The Left Front too blocked roads and staged demonstrations in front of the police stations in the Southern part of the city, where the TMC workers allegedly beat up the LF workers and attacked their homes.
Three Companies of the Central forces, which are inadequate according to the Poll Commission, staged flag marches in some areas, though more than 50 per cent of the wards are considered sensitive with clashes apprehended on Saturday.
