Seven held over TMC groups' clash, ammunition seized

A day after two persons, including a young boy, were killed and at least five more were injured in a gunfight between two factions of the state's ruling Trinamool Congress, police on Friday recovered a large number of cartridges from the area and arrested seven persons.

"We have recovered nearly 50 rounds of empty and live cartridges from a field in South 24 Parganas district's Basanti where the clash took place.

"Several rounds of cartridges are still scattered in those fields. It seems the two units have somehow gathered a large cache of arms and ammunition in the area," a police officer said.

"Seven people have been arrested from the two rival groups. Three of them have been remanded in police custody today (Friday)," he said.

A massive clash took place between the local unit of Trinamool Congress and its youth wing activists on Thursday afternoon near a village fair ground in Basanti.

Members of the two factions opened fire and hurled bombs at each other, killing two and injuring several including a police personnel.

"Apart from the nine-year-old boy Rizaul Molla who was shot dead, a local miscreant named Hasan Molla was injured during the clash. He died on Thursday night," the officer said.

"We are running constant raids in the local villages to track down the people involved in Thursday's clash. We need to find out how they smuggled in so much ammunition there."

--IANS

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