Kolkata, 11 October (H.S.). A shocking incident occurred in the Changual Gram Panchayat under Kharagpur-II block of West Midnapore district on Friday evening, when a general body meeting turned violent. The elected woman Panchayat Chief was allegedly assaulted, verbally abused, and her face blackened by women members of her own party, triggering tension in the area.

According to reports, before the meeting began, Trinamool Congress member Sujata De accused Panchayat Chief Dipali Singh of obstructing development work in her locality. The argument soon escalated into a heated confrontation and reportedly turned physical.

Witnesses alleged that Dipali Singh attacked Sujata De and threw black ink on her face. In protest, Sujata De, accompanied by her supporters and several women members of the Trinamool Congress, locked the Panchayat office gate and staged a sit-in demonstration. The situation worsened when some women workers allegedly entered the office, physically assaulted Chief Dipali Singh, and tore her clothes.

However, Dipali Singh refuted the allegations, claiming that Sujata De and her associates attacked her instead. “Sujata hit me and blackened my face during the scuffle. This is part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the BJP,” Singh alleged.

In contrast, Sujata De maintained that she was the victim, stating, “The Panchayat Chief misbehaved with me and threw black ink. No development work is allowed in my area, and when I protested, I was attacked. Dipali Singh herself smeared her face with ink to frame me falsely.”

Police from Kharagpur Local Police Station and the Joint BDO of Kharagpur-II Block reached the spot soon after the incident. However, they refrained from making any official statement regarding the altercation.

The incident has sparked widespread unrest in the Changual Gram Panchayat area, once again exposing the deep internal factionalism within the Trinamool Congress at the grassroots level.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh