Two persons were killed and at least five seriously injured as bullets flew and bombs were hurled in Bhatpara, 34km north of Calcutta, on Thursday morning.

The dead were identified as residents Rambabu Shaw, 26, and Dharmveer Shaw, 30. Police sources said both suffered bullet injuries. Local BJP MP Arjun Singh alleged they were shot dead by the police.

“The administration is picking on BJP supporters and killing them,” he alleged, promising to make the “atrocities” a national issue.

Director-general of police Veerendra was scheduled to be in the area on Thursday to upgrade an outpost into Bhatpara police station.

Later in the day, Manoj Verma replaced Tanmoy Roychowdhury as Barrackpore commissioner.

Trinamul sources blamed Arjun and the BJP for the violence, which started when a group of youths fired at jute mill worker Suraj Mandal, 22.

Trinamul has been on the back foot in the industrial belt. Arjun, who quit the party in March to join the BJP, wrested the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat from Dinesh Trivedi. His son Pawan won the Bhatpara Assembly seat.

“The violence is a fallout of the intense turf war,” said a senior police officer.

Police allegedly came under attack, and had to fire 10 rounds in the air.

In the evening home secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay appealed for peace and Section 144 was clamped.