A video shot on mobile phone shows Trinamool supporters hurling bombs. The police force also came under fire, as stones and bombs were hurled at them too.
Rival factions of the Trinamool Congress clashed in eastern Kolkata's Tangra area today with bombs and guns and when the police tried to control the situation, they, too, were fired at, bombed and brick batted. Five policemen were injured and rushed to hospital even as others dived into shops and houses to escape the miscreants.
In mobile footage shot during the clash by an eyewitness, the miscreants are heard shouting at each other to bomb the police. Also, an unidentified man is heard shouting, "Somnath, ask the police to fire." A woman who witnessed the clash said, "A policeman was injured in the head when a brick came flying."
Trouble started allegedly between the Alok Khatua and Prabir Guha factions of the Trinamool around 11 am. The two factions are at loggerheads over the local construction business and filling of a pond to put up a building. Men belonging to the Katua group allegedly surrounded members of the Guha group at Vaishali More, just about 100 metres from the Tangra police station, and a clash ensued.
Swapan Samaddar, the local Trinamool councillor, denied any party links to the incident. But sources say trouble was brewing between the two groups for some time.
The Opposition condemned the incident. BJP's Pradip Ghosh said, "Civil war has erupted inside the Trinamool and this is the result."
"It is lumpen raj in Bengal," said a Congress leader.
The police has filed a suo moto case. Till last reports there were no arrests. Asked about the political nature of the clash, Deputy Commissioner of Police Gaurav Sharma said, "As far as we know, two groups clashed. We are verifying their antecedents."