Two persons in Cooch Behar with criminal records died on Tuesday night as they allegedly attacked each other over a family dispute.

The wife of one, however, accused a panchayat member of the TMC, who denied her charge.

Police have recovered their bodies and initiated a probe. They are also trying to determine whether anybody else was involved in the attack.

Sources said that last night, Yousuf Mian, 58, and Hasanur Rahaman, 35, had an altercation. Both lived in Uttar Baladanga, a village under the Dinhata police station limits.

They had an old enmity and had threatened each other several times, said villagers.

Police officers probing the case suspect they attacked each other with sharp weapons during a drunken brawl. Eventually, both collapsed on the spot.

“No sharp weapon, however, was recovered from the spot. That is why, the police gathering information to know whether any third person had attacked them,” said a source.

Dyutiman Bhattacharya, the superintendent of police of Cooch Behar, said around 12 years back, both Yousuf and Hasanur were arrested in connection with a robbery carried out in a jewellery shop in Mathabhanga of the district.

In due course, Yousuf stayed behind bars in judicial custody while Hasanur got bail.

“As he was released, Hasanur tried to convince Yousuf’s wife to elope with him. As she didn’t agree, Hasanur reportedly assaulted her,” said the SP.

Being a habitual offender, Hasanur was again arrested in connection with some cases and was in the correctional home for the past five years.

“During this period, the enmity between Hasanur and Yousuf grew, especially after the latter learned that Hasanur tried to lure his wife away. Around five months back, both of them were released on bail,” the district police chief added.

The police are waiting for the post-mortem reports to know the exact cause of their deaths.

Sayera Banu, Hasanur’s wife, however, accused a local panchayat member and his associates of her husband’s death. “They have killed my husband,” she said.

Zakir Hossain Mian, a Trinamool panchayat member from the area, however, denied the charge.

“It is a baseless allegation. Some people are wrongly trying to implicate me in the case. People here are aware of their (Yousuf's and Hasanur's) enmity,” he said.