Opposition parties have alleged that Chopra block in North Dinajpur, which is located in the strategic “chicken’s neck”, is sitting on a stockpile of illegal firearms and bombs.

On Thursday, alleged Trinamul Congress supporters had fired at a joint march of CPM and Congress workers. They were marching to the Chopra BDO office to submit nominations for the panchayat elections.

Ashok Roy, the Congress president of Chopra block who was beaten up by the alleged Trinamul members during the march, said the attackers had used sophisticated rifles.

“We were walking towards the BDO office and I was at the front. When we reached Katalbaribusty, some people opened fire. I have seen AK series rifles in their hands. They were raining bullets on us. I have informed the state leadership in detail about the attack,” said Roy.

“It was not a political clash but a planned one-sided attack. We are apprehensive that the attackers are carrying sophisticated rifles with them. This is disturbing as there can be similar attacks in the future,” said a senior CPM leader.

Debasree Chaudhuri, the BJP MP of Raiganj, said she would apprise Union home minister Amit Shah of the incident and the suspected use of sophisticated rifles.

“We suspect that illegal firearms, ammunition and bombs are stored in Chopra. The entire block is sitting on a powder keg. The Siliguri corridor, which connects the entire Northeast, starts from here. We cannot undermine the strategic importance of this area,” she said.

Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, the PCC president, said: “The use of sophisticated firearms has left us worried. It is not a matter of panchayat elections but of national security. We doubt whether the state police will make any move at all to seize such firearms. A central agency should be engaged for a probe,” he said over the phone.

Kanaialal Agarwala, the district Trinamul president, rejected the charges. “None from our party was involved in the attack. We suspect it was a stunt by the CPM and the Congress as they are afraid of defeat in the rural polls,” he said.

Youth dies after BSF firing

Cooch Behar: A youth was shot dead allegedly by the BSF near the Bangladesh border in Cooch Behar district on Friday early morning.

The BSF alleged that Gautam Barman, a 27-year-old resident of 94-Fulkadabri village, was a cattle rustler. His family members denied the charge and said that he was a migrant worker and had returned home around a week back.

According to a police complaint lodged by the BSF, the border force was forced to open fire when it was attacked by a group of alleged cattle thieves.

The BSF said the gang was trying to smuggle cattle into Bangladesh through an unfenced area.

Reacting to the incident, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said: “We got information today that the BSF had shot dead a Rajbanshi youth last night. I want to know how many central teams will come to probe the incident?”

OUR CORRESPONDENT