Acute differences between two lobbies of Trinamul over the supply of construction materials to build the permanent building of Calcutta High Court’s Circuit Bench in Jalpaiguri allegedly led to violence on Wednesday night.

Sources said on Wednesday, Bikash Basak, a Trinamul leader based in Paharpur on the outskirts of the town, filed a complaint against Krishna Das, the district president of Trinamul’s SC and ST cell and deputy of Trinamul-run Baropatia panchayat (under Sadar block).

“I got the contract to supply sand, stone and pebbles for the construction work. I started supplying the materials. Some associates of Krishna Das, however, attacked me and also beat me up. Krishna Das himself took out a firearm, fired a blank shot and warned me to stop supplying construction materials or face dire consequences,” alleged Basak on Thursday.

Trinamul insiders said Basak is an associate of Saikat Chatterjee, the district youth Trinamul president.

In Jalpaiguri district, differences among the lobbies of Das and Chatterjee are well known within the party.

Sources said police acted on Basak’s complaint and detained an associate of Das late on Wednesday.

This prompted Das to reach Kotwali police station on Wednesday night with around 1,000-odd supporters.

“Das’s supporters virtually cordoned off the police station and eventually, the person who was detained was released early on Thursday. Such activities of Das have led to questions within the party,” said a Trinamul leader who did not want to be named.

“The construction firm that has been assigned with the task to supply materials has in turn given sub-contracts to some local suppliers. This has led to the problem as both the lobbies want to control the supply,” the party leader added.

Das, when contacted, however came up with a different version.

He denied that he had been to the construction site and said there had been some altercation among local residents and workers.

“Some local residents want to work on the site. But there are reports that workers from outside are being brought there. This led to some discontent and hence some problems. But some people are trying to implicate me in false cases,” he said.

Other Trinamul leaders, including party’s district president K.K. Kalyani, were tightlipped and denied to reveal any information about the incident.

Police have started probing the incident and are trying to trace those who had perpetrated the violence.

Debarshi Dutta, the Jalpaiguri district police chief, was also brief in his reaction. “It is not clear what led to the problem. We are keeping a close watch on the construction site and are conducting an inquiry,” he said.

The ugly spat caused a halt in the supply of construction materials to the construction site both on Wednesday and Thursday.