Bomb attack at Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh’s residence: Unidentified miscreants on Wednesday night hurled bombs at the residence of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Arjun Singh in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, news agency ANI reported. The miscreants also fired shots in the air outside his residence. Arjun Singh represents the Barrackpore constituency in the Lok Sabha. His residence falls under the limits of Jagatdal police station. Police told ANI that a complaint has been filed against unidentified miscreants and an operation is underway to identify them.
Saurabh Singh, Chairman of Bhatpara Municipality and Arjun Singh’s nephew, said that he and three more people were standing outside the house when four bombs were hurled.
“We rushed to the spot which was very near to where we were standing. Suddenly they started firing and of course, I was their target,” he said.
Arjun Singh’s relatives told The Indian Express that the Trinamool Congress goons were behind the attack. Angry locals also blocked roads demanding action.
A police official told the daily that bombs were hurled in Bhatpara but whether anyone specific was the target isn’t clear.
Meanwhile, heavy police officials have been deployed in the vicinity and outside the residence of Arjun Singh. The MP was not present at his residence when the incident took place. He is currently in Delhi as the Parliament’s Monsoon Session is underway.
There has been a spurt in incidents of attacks on BJP workers in West Bengal ever since the saffron party pulled off a stunning victory in the general elections. Arjun Singh was a TMC strongman but he quit Mamata Banerjee’s party in March and joined the BJP after he was denied ticket for the Lok Sabha elections from Barrackpore constituency. Singh won from Barrackpore, handing a blow to Banerjee as he defeated sitting MP Dinesh Trivedi.
Arjun Singh is a political heavyweight and commands immense influence in areas key to Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress politically. The attack at his residence will be seen as the most recent incidence of political violence in the run-up to the municipal elections next year and the bigger battle for the Assembly in 2021.