Kolkata, Mar 29 (PTI) Former West Bengal minister and senior TMC MLA Akhil Giri was injured in a scuffle during the election process of board members of a cooperative bank in Purba Medinipur district on Saturday.

Leader of the Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was the chairman of the bank, which has 14 seats.

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A senior police officer said rival groups belonging to the BJP and the TMC exchanged blows as polling began for 13 seats of the Contai Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank.

The TMC has already won one of the seats unopposed, leading to polling in the 13 other seats.

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Former minister Giri, who was caught in the scuffle at the Ramnagar College booth, suffered wounds on his hands, the officer said.

His followers demonstrated before the booth alleging that Giri was pushed by one of the policemen during the scuffle.

Giri, who was treated at Tamralipta Hospital, told reporters that the police are working under the instruction of the Leader of Opposition and Nandigram MLA Suvendu Adhikari.

The Purba Medinipur district police were acting in an inhuman manner, Giri alleged.

With Adhikari joining the BJP from the TMC before the 2021 assembly polls, the political equations changed in the district. Now, both parties are eyeing to win the cooperative bank election.

Speaking to reporters, Adhikari alleged that Akhil Giri and his son Suprakash Giri unleashed terror at the polling booths in Ramnagar and Kanthi areas and tried to stop peaceful voting after sensing defeat.

"When he tried to enter the polling booth forcibly, he was stopped, and then he feigned injury," Adhikari said, adding both Giri and his son failed in enforcing their strongarm tactics and were desperate thereafter.

Giri also hit a policeman during the scuffle and used foul language against some of them on duty at the booth, Adhikari alleged.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)