Arjun Singh, the former MP from Barrackpore who has switched between the BJP and Trinamul Congress three times since 2019, alleged on Friday that a group of individuals attacked his Jagatdal office-residence, Mazdoor Bhavan, using bombs and firearms around 8.30am on Friday.

Singh, 62, claimed he suffered a splinter injury from the attack at the office in Meghna More in Jagatdal, North 24 Parganas.

Sources in the Jagatdal police station said that no injury was confirmed, and senior officials, accompanied by a large contingent of forces, were conducting a probe at the scene of the alleged attack.

At 10.18am, Singh posted a video of the alleged attack on X tagging not only Trinamul and the state police but also the Prime Minister’s Office, Union home minister Amit Shah, Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose, BJP state unit chief Sukanta Majumdar, and the leader of the Opposition in Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari. The post was accompanied by a communally-stained statement.

“This morning, when everyone was busy in Puja for Navratri, several jehadis and goons under the protection of Namit Singh, an accused in the NIA cases and son of the local @AITCofficial Councillor and supervision of the local police attacked my office-cum-residence Mazdoor Bhawan,” claimed Singh in the post.

This newspaper was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video.

“The local police played a role of mute spectator as the goons were brandishing the firearms openly in front of the police. About 15 bombs were hurled, more than a dozen rounds of bullets were fired by these goons. The @WBPolice has become a stooge of the @AITCofficial. Shameful!” Singh said.

Singh is a former four-term Bhatpara MLA (from Trinamul) and one-term Barrackpore MP (from the BJP) who went back to the BJP camp in March after being denied Lok Sabha candidature by Mamata Banerjee’s party this election.

He went on to lose to her then cabinet colleague Partha Bhowmick and, according to sources in the BJP state unit, has not felt adequately appreciated in the BJP camp since.

Singh later said that when he stepped out of his home in the morning, he saw around 25 “anti-socials”, allegedly led by the Trinamool councillor’s son, hurling bombs.

“I was injured by a splinter and they fired at least 25 rounds. It was a planned attack and I was the clear target,” he claimed.

Asked if the BJP had been informed, he said: “Yes, the party has been informed, but I will have to fight my own battle.”

Trinamul’s Jagatdal MLA and Singh’s bete noire Somenath Shyam, however, accused Singh of having fired four rounds. “These are baseless allegations. Over the past few days, he has been consistently trying to create unrest in the area in an attempt to regain his lost ground.

“I can assure you that the Trinamool is not involved. Let the police conduct their investigation. It is highly probable that he orchestrated this himself, and is now blaming our party,” said Shyam.

Adhikari, also a Trinamool turncoat, issued a statement on X in support of Singh. “This morning, prominent goons and renowned anti-socials associated with the ruling Trinamul Congress Party attacked the home of senior BJP leader and former MP, Shri Arjun Singh, in Bhatpara, North 24 Parganas district,” wrote the Nandigram MLA.

“They even hurled crude bombs. As usual, the police played the role of mute spectator and didn’t do much to deter the criminals,” he added. “The video footage is enough to identify the culprits and arrest them for this heinous crime. I hope DGP @WBPolice will at least try to use the visuals for nabbing these miscreants.”

The Congress’s chief spokesperson for Bengal, Soumya Aich Roy, said that the alleged incident at the residence of Singh, who cut his teeth in electoral politics with the Congress in the 1990s, was an adequate reflection of the state of affairs.

“Barrackpore has become a haven for criminals, where people are being killed and extorted right under the police’s nose. If bombs can be thrown at the house of a former MP, imagine the plight of ordinary citizens. The chief minister needs to be held accountable,” he said.

Additional reporting by Saibal Gupta