Howrah, 17 December (H.S.): An attack was allegedly carried out on the husband of a Trinamool Congress panchayat member at the Bankra No. 3 Panchayat office in Howrah district on Tuesday afternoon. Three people were injured in the incident, one of whom is reported to be in serious condition.

The seriously injured person has been identified as Arman Khan, who has been admitted to Howrah District Hospital. The other two injured – Ranjan Pal and Rozina Khatun – were discharged after first aid.

As per information, a discussion was underway regarding a no-confidence motion at the panchayat meeting. Allegedly, as soon as the no-confidence motion was brought up, panchayat member Zakir Hussain Mandal attacked two other members. Ranjan Pal and Rozina Khatun, who were present at the meeting, were injured in the attack.

Allegedly, when Arman Khan, the husband of panchayat member Shabnam Begum, was going towards the panchayat office, he was stopped on the way and severely beaten during the incident.

Swati Jana, the deputy head of Bankra No. 3 Panchayat, said that 12 out of the 22 panchayat members wanted to bring a no-confidence motion in the meeting that day. But as soon as the no-confidence motion was mentioned in the meeting, Ranjan Pal and Rozina Khatun were attacked. The husband of one member was also beaten.

The deputy head further said that Arman was coming to the panchayat to inform them that Shabnam would not be able to attend the meeting that day. At that time, he was stopped on the way and severely beaten.

Panchayat member Zakir Hussain Mandal completely denied the allegations made by the deputy head. He said that the deputy head and her associates had attacked Panchayat head TukTuki Sheikh. That's when a scuffle broke out between the two sides. No one beat those three injured members.

TukTuki Sheikh, the head of Bankra No. 3 Panchayat, said that it was not a no-confidence motion, but a discussion on the SIR issue. She said that a discussion was taking place regarding the SIR. In Bankra, approximately 1400 names were removed from a party's membership list. I was inquiring from the members about how these names were removed. That's when some members attacked me, beat me up, and tore my clothes. I have filed a written complaint at Domjur police station regarding this kind of disorder and assault at the panchayat meeting.

Meanwhile, Howrah Zilla Parishad mentor Rajiv Banerjee said in this context that such an incident is in no way desirable. The party never supports such incidents. The party will investigate the truth of the incident.

The police have initiated an investigation into the matter.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey