BJP MP Arjun Singh responsible for Kankinara violence: Police

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."