A young man and his mother were thrashed in Ariadaha on the northern fringe of Calcutta early on Monday, allegedly by a group of men led by a local Trinamool Congress strongman.

Sayandip Panja and his mother Bubun are now in a hospital in the area.

The woman underwent surgery on her shoulder on Tuesday. Several of her teeth were smashed in the attack.

Sayandip, 23, has received multiple stitches on his head and has injuries on his legs, chest and hip.

In a police complaint lodged by Sayandip’s father Bimal at the local Belgharia police station, he said his son had a tiff with a friend named Pritam and the culmination of that fight was the attack by several men armed with bricks, rods and bamboo sticks.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the attack. The name of Jayant Singh, a local Trinamool leader, came up as the prime accused.

“Around 1.10am on Monday, a group of men came to my house looking for my son. After he stepped out, they took him across the road and attacked him. When my wife went to rescue him, she was severely beaten up,” Bimal told Metro.

“Some neighbours came to rescue my son and wife.”

Bimal held Jayant Singh, the local Trinamool Congress strongman, responsible for leading the attack on his son and wife.

“Jayant is a criminal. Din-er por din manush ke maarey, guli chalaye, arrest hoy abar beriye asey (Day after day he keeps beating up people, fires bullets, gets arrested and comes out),” Bimal said.

“His group beat up a few youths during a football match at Jagarani club recently.”

Senior officers in the Barrackpore police commissionerate said Jayant was an accused in an attempt to murder case in Ariadaha a year ago.

In that incident, Trinamool leader Aritra Ghosh, 45, was beaten up and shot at by a group of six allegedly over a fight between two party factions.

On his way to a hospital, Aritra is said to have named Jayant Singh and Raju Ghosh as those who had allegedly opened fire on him.

The police said Jayant was arrested and later got bail.

On Tuesday, Gopal Saha, chairman of the Trinamool-run Kamarhati municipality, said: “I’m told that Jayant is a Trinamool worker but I’m not aware of his exact details. This act of attacking a woman and her son outside their house is unacceptable. It’s a shame for the municipality.”

On Tuesday afternoon, a section of residents protested alleged police slackness in arresting Jayant.

The group, comprising many women and elderly people, gathered outside the Ariadaha Taltala Sporting Club and demanded that the police arrest Jayant.

“Jayant had no business to interfere in a fight between two friends that had ended for the day. He came with his men armed with sticks and rods and had a brick tied to a cloth that his men kept swinging,” said an eyewitness, a woman who did not want to be named.

“He is responsible for running illegal gambling joints and shops that sell ganja in our locality,” she said.

The social media site of the club has several videos of members celebrating Jayant’s birthday. Some residents alleged Jayant controlled the club and its members.

“I visited the mother and the son at the nursing home. The father works in the municipality’s transport wing. Unfortunately, such an incident took place in my ward,” said Bharati Swarnakar, councillor of the municipality’s Ward 11.

A senior officer of the Belgharia police station said the six arrested were booked under several sections of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — 109 (attempt to murder), 117 (voluntarily causing grievous injuries) and 61 (criminal conspiracy).

“The six accused were arrested within a few hours of us receiving the complaint in the early hours of Monday. They were later produced before Barrackpore court and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days,” the officer said.

“We are on the lookout for Jayant and will arrest him soon. He is absconding right now,” he said.