Kolkata: The West Bengal Police on Monday said the violence that broke out at Kankinara in North 24 Parganas district was "well planned" to disrupt peace, and held injured BJP MP Arjun Singh responsible for carrying out attacks on police personnel.
Violence erupted in the area on Sunday over capture of a party office at Shyamnagar in the district.
"Reports of violence came only from the area near his (Arjun Singh's) residence. Going by the nature of the clash, it seems that it was a well-planned one aiming to disrupt peace there," West Bengal ADG (Law and Order) Gyanwant Singh said at the state secretariat.
Singh also lauded Barrackpore Police Commissioner Manoj Verma and his team for handling the situation in a patient manner.
Around 30 people have been arrested in connection with Sunday's violence, he said.
"The manner in which they (Arjun Singh and his men) were pelting stones and hurling bombs towards police personnel, I think if the police had lost their cool, the situation could have deteriorated," Gyanwant Singh said.
Arjun Singh, the party MP from Barrackpore, claimed that Verma had struck him, causing a gash on his head, while he and his supporters were holding a "peaceful protest" at Kankinara in the district against the "capture" of its party office by Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists.
Denying the BJP MP's charge, the ADG said, "There are TV grabs on how the police were attacked and the mob was led by Arjun Singh... Suddenly (during the violence), a stone which was thrown by one of his party supporters hit him. The CP never lathicharged him."
Gyanwant Singh said that Verma was attacked by the saffron party supporters when he had gone to persuade Arjun Singh's son -- BJP MLA from Bhatpara, Pawan -- to put off a demonstration he had started in the area.
"... Instead of listening to Verma, they started hurling bombs and stones at him, forcing the police to move back till more forces joined," he said.
The ADG also said in the last two months, Varma has brought peace in the area. "He has arrested 150 criminals and recovered more than 300 bombs from this small area of Bhatpara and Jagatdal".
Meanwhile, BJP activists blocked road and rail traffic at several places on Monday during a 12-hour bandh called by the party in North 24 Parganas district to protest attacks on its leaders, police said.
Bhatpara and Kankinara were in the news after the Lok Sabha polls for repeated clashes between the BJP and the ruling TMC.
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