An incident of stone-pelting on the convoy of Nisith Pramanik, a junior minister in the Union home ministry on Saturday, turned Burirhat, an otherwise nondescript village in Dinhata sub-division of Cooch Behar district, into a battlefield on Saturday as Trinamul and BJP supporters clashed with each other.

Police had to rush to the spot to bring the situation under control. Leaders of both parties threatened each other with “consequences” in due course. Sources said that Pramanik, who is also the local MP, had planned to visit the houses of some party supporters who faced alleged atrocities of Trinamul.

As Trinamul came to know about his programme, a group of supporters assembled in Burirhat and decided to wield black flags and shout slogans as the minister moved through the route.

Around 12.30 pm, Pramanik’s convoy reached the area, prompting Trinamul supporters to demonstrate. This made some BJP supporters, who were in the convoy, get down and shout counter-slogans.

Suddenly, stones were pelted which hit Pramanik’s car and some other vehicles in the convoy. This made Pramanik get down from his car. As the central security force personnel guarded him, BJP supporters retaliated and attacked Trinamul supporters with bricks and sticks. There was complete mayhem as they clashed.

Soon, BJP supporters damaged some bikes and a local Trinamul office. A team from Sahebganj police station could not initially control the crowd. Soon, additional forces reached the spot and dispersed both sides.

During the clash, the central security personnel guarding Pramanik were also seen jostling with police officers as the latter tried to reach the minister. Nisith, speaking to newspersons, said it was a pre-planned attack. “Trinamul is attacking me because I am reaching out to common supporters who are victims of their atrocities. I will not budge an inch even if attacks continue,” he said.

Trinamul leaders, on the other hand, accused Pramanik of trying to foment tension in Dinhata sub-division. “Nisith Pramanik is moving around with goons. Today, his associates attacked our supporters, ransacked their bikes, and also one of our party offices without any provocation. Let us make it clear that BJP supporters will face the consequences. We will not let any of them come out of their homes,” said Udayan Guha, the Dinhata MLA and NB development minister, who visited Burirhat after the incident.

Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said that a junior Union minister was not safe in his electoral constituency and it showed the law and order of Bengal.

“The governor sought a report from the police…. the police sent him a misleading report. Whatever happened with Nisith Pramanik today, there will be a reaction. You (Trinamul MPs) will go to the parliament on the 13th (March) and face the consequences,” said Adhikari.

Sukanta Majumdar, state BJP chief, questioned the role of state police. In the evening, tension broke out in Dinhata as a BJP office was torched. Police reached the spot, said sources.