Supporters of the Trinamul Congress and the BJP clashed during an altercation over the supply of building materials at Khalpara in Siliguri on Monday night.

Amit Jain, the BJP councillor and the leader of the Opposition at the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, has alleged that he was assaulted during the clash.

Sources said construction materials had reached one of the alleys of Khalpara, which is in Ward IX represented by Jain, around 10.30pm. Then, an altercation ensued between the supplier and some local youths who also deliver similar materials.

Jain, along with his associates, reached the spot. Pradip Goyal, a former Trinamul councillor of the ward, also arrived.

“I just wanted to know what had happened. Pradip Goyal and some others, however, became agitated and attacked me. My friends came to my rescue and took me to Siliguri district hospital,” Jain said.

His brother Bikas filed a complaint at Khalpara police outpost.

Goyal denied the charges. “Ever since Amit Jain was elected, he has been trying to control the supply of construction materials in the ward. When some locals protested against his highhandedness last night, he and his associates attacked them. I went there to resolve the problem. He is levelling baseless allegations,” said the Trinamul leader.

Several BJP leaders called on Jain at the hospital on Tuesday morning. In the evening, the BJP organised a march at Hashmi Chowk in the city to protest against the alleged attack. Police detained around 20 BJP leaders and workers and whisked them away to Siliguri police station. Some other BJP supporters reached there and raised a blockade of Station Feeder Road.

Anandamay Barman, the president of the BJP’s Siliguri (organisational) district, said the former Trinamul councillor was running a syndicate of construction material supply and demanded a police action.

4 held with cannabis

Siliguri: New Jalpaiguri police on Monday evening seized over 43 kilos of cannabis worth around Rs 2 crore from the city fringes and arrested four persons in this connection.

Police intercepted a car at Canal Road near Fulbari in the southern end of Siliguri and found 43.6 kilos of cannabis in various pockets inside the vehicle.

Those arrested — PabitraBarman, Kamal Sarkar, Nirmal Das and Debesh Sarkar— were on way to Siliguri from Cooch Behar.

The BSF nabbed three Bangladeshi nationals in the past 24 hours for illegally trying to enter India.

OUR CORRESPONDENT