Bombs hurled at my house, says Bengal BJP leader Arjun Singh; targets TMC
Arjun Singh, who was earlier in the Trinamool Congress, lost to the Trinamool Congress’s Partha Bhowmick in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
KOLKATA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh on Friday said criminals backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) threw bombs, hurled stones and fired gunshots at his house.
“TMC-backed criminals threw at least 25 bombs and fired around 20 rounds at my home. I was hit by a splinter when I went downstairs. The attack was led by Namit Singh, son of the local TMC councillor,” Singh told reporters. He pointed at a scar on his right leg alleging that it was caused by a bomb splinter around 9am.
Singh also posted a video on Facebook and X, which showed dozens of men running around a building and hurling brickbats. Singh claimed the building is Shramik Bhawan, his home in North 24 Parganas district’s Bhatpara town which is part of the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat.
HT cannot verify the authenticity of the video.
This is not the first time that Singh’s home has been attacked. Similar incidents were reported after Singh, who was previously with the TMC, left the party and won the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket in 2019.
The National Investigation Agency, which probed the attack on orders of Calcutta high court, arrested Namit Singh, son of TMC councillor Sunita Singh, in May 2022 in connection with the recovery of 45 crude bombs outside Shramik Bhawan in March that year. Namit Singh was later released on bail.
Neither Namit Singh nor his mother could be contacted on Friday.
Local TMC legislator Somnath Shyam blamed Singh for the violence. “Arjun Singh and his men started the violence. Singh fired several shots. He is not the sole owner of that building. Other members of the family went to claim their right and the violence erupted” Shyam said but the allegation was denied by the former MP.
“Policemen have been deployed outside Singh’s residence and an investigation has started. A man, identified as Prem Singh, has been detained for questioning,” a local police officer said on condition of anonymity.
A prominent leader in the Barrackpore industrial belt, Arjun Singh joined BJP in March 2019 when he was the TMC’s Bhatpara MLA. He was fielded from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat against sitting MP Dinesh Trivedi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and emerged victorious in an election that was marked by violence which continues intermittently in the region.
Singh, who had been elevated as BJP state unit’s vice president, returned to the TMC in May 2022 but he returned to the BJP before the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year since the TMC did not field him from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat again. He contested the Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket but was defeated by TMC’s Partha Bhowmick.