Cooch Behar: 2 killed, 4 injured in clash

Cooch Behar: Two persons were killed, and four others sustained serious injuries in a violent clash between two families in the Balasi area under Hazrahat-I Gram Panchayat of Mathabhanga-I block in Cooch Behar district on Thursday.

According to police and hospital sources, a long-standing family dispute escalated into a verbal altercation and soon turned violent. Allegedly, sharp weapons were used during the clash. Six injured persons were rushed to Mathabhanga Sub-Divisional Hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared Manab Sarkar and Jadab Sarkar dead.

The injured have been identified as Bimal Sarkar, Deb Sarkar, Arjun Sarkar, and Biplab Sarkar. All four are undergoing treatment at the same hospital, and their condition is reported to be serious. Additional Superintendent of Police of Cooch Behar, Tanmoy Mukherjee, said police received information from the hospital and that no written complaint had been lodged so far. “An investigation has been initiated to ascertain the sequence of events,” he said.

Local sources said the dispute reportedly stemmed from family tensions following the marriage of Biplab Sarkar’s niece to Pintu Sikdar, a resident of the same village.

Biplab Sarkar claimed his niece had called him on Wednesday night, alleging that her husband had threatened her. On Thursday morning, he rushed to the spot after learning of a fresh altercation and was allegedly attacked while trying to intervene. As members of the Sikdar family were not present in the area after the incident, their version could not be obtained.