Three shops belonging to a "popular" ISF candidate from Hooghly's Chanditala were demolished on Wednesday by alleged Trinamul supporters led by a local party leader, apparently because the former dared to fight the gram panchayat poll despite a so-called diktat by leaders of Bengal's ruling party not to contest.

Owner of three shops, Afsar Hussain, received "repeated threats" since he filed his nomination as a panchayat samiti candidate for Chanditala-I block, but stayed in the fray.

Hussain lost to his Trinamul rival by a slender margin.

Sad over losing, the ISF candidate was, however, unaware of what lay in store for him the day after results were announced on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Trinamul supporters led by Sheikh Mosharaf arrived with an earthmover at Bhagabatipur Bazar in Chanditala, where Hussain had his shops.

As hundreds of residents of the area watched, the earthmover razed Hussain's shops, reminiscent of the "bulldozer punishment" in Yogi Adityanath's Uttar Pradesh.

Although Hussain's shops were demolished, he was not spared either.

Some goons ransacked Hussain's house and assaulted him till he fell unconscious, local sources said.

"Armed goons threatened us to keep silent as they went about razing Hussain's shops one after another. The concrete structures were razed to dust because he had dared to defy Trinamul leaders and contest the polls. We felt helpless as we watched the demolition," said a local resident.

Reportedly, Mosharaf and his goons returned on Thursday to attack CPM activists who had campaigned for Hussain in the run up to the elections.

The homes of several CPM workers in the area were ransacked.

Responding to the demolition and subsequent attacks, CPM's Chanditala-I area committee member Azim Ali said: "This is nothing but state-sponsored brutality on those who are opposed to the ruling party in Bengal. These people demolished Hussain's shops using an earthmover in full public view but the police did not come to take action against the Trinamul leader and his goons. The brutal attack on political rivals goes to show how lawlessness reigns in the state at present."

Hussain has not protested against the demolition or lodged a police complaint.

"He is too scared now," said a local resident.

"The ruling party had targeted Hussain for a long time. He is popular in the area as a social worker. Trinamul had asked him to withdraw his nomination. He was assaulted earlier but remained steadfast in his determination to fight Trinamul," Ali added.

Local Trinamul leaders refused to speak on the matter.

A senior Trinamul leader in Calcutta said: "Our party never encourages such brutality. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has already given a free hand to the police to act strongly against such violence. I heard the police have already started action against the perpetrators of violence and arrested some of the accused."

As Hussain did not lodge any police complaint fearing for his life, some local residents came forward to anonymously inform the police about the demolition. A team from Chanditala police station arrived but when they did the shops had been demolished and Hussain brutally assaulted.

Responding to the incident, superintendent of police, Hooghly rural police district, Amandeep said: “After we learnt about the incident, we lodged a suo motu case and arrested three persons. The earthmover has been seized and involvement of others are being investigated.”

Blast in Bhangar

At least six ISF supporters were injured when some crude bombs exploded at a house in Chaltaberia, Bhangar, on Thursday afternoon.

Local residents alleged the persons had been making bombs.

The injured persons were trying to flee when the police with the support of local residents caught them.

Police sources said four injured persons had been admitted to Chittaranjan Medical College Hospital in Calcutta with severe burns.

The police said that acting on a tip-off, they intercepted a car on Basanti highway in which the injured persons were trying to flee.

The police have detained the driver.

Reacting to the incident, Trinamul MLA Saukat Molla said: "Today's (Thursday's) incident proved who is trying to foment tension in Bhangar. ISF supporters were making bombs secretly when the blast occurred. They tried to flee but the villagers caught them and handed them over to the police."

Local ISF leaders refuted the charge. Party MLA Nawsad Siddique did not respond to calls from this newspaper.

Nandigram clash

Eleven Trinamul workers were injured at Nandigram, East Midnapore, on Thursday.

Trinamul sources accused the BJP of attacking their supporters, a charge the saffron camp denied.

Police sources said the injuries took place during a clash between Trinamul supporters and party rebels who contested the rural polls as Independents. The injured were brought to Calcutta.