A violent shootout erupted Saturday night in front of Trinamool Congress MLA Sabitri Mitra’s residence in English Bazar, Malda district, West Bengal, leaving one man injured. The victim, Biplab Ghosh, sustained a gunshot wound to his left arm and is receiving treatment at a local hospital. The incident has heightened concerns in a region already plagued by a spate of shootings this year.

Ghosh recounted to police that he stepped outside after hearing a group of local youths arguing loudly. Attempting to intervene, he was shot by one of the individuals, identified as Uttam Mondale, who fired two rounds before fleeing. Four others have been detained by the English Bazar police, though Mondale remains at large. In response, authorities have deployed a police contingent near Mitra’s home to bolster security, given the proximity of the incident to the ruling party legislator’s residence.

Malda has been under scrutiny for recurring violence. In January, Trinamool councillor Dulal Sarkar was gunned down in broad daylight in English Bazar, with the party’s Malda town president, Narendra Nath Tiwari, arrested as the mastermind. That same month, another TMC leader, Hasan Sheikh, was killed in a similar public shooting in Kaliachak. The district’s troubles continued into February when English Bazar Municipality chairman Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury reported receiving extortion threats linked to D-Company.

The latest shootout underscores Malda’s ongoing law-and-order challenges, with political rivalries and factionalism often cited as underlying causes. While police investigate Ghosh’s shooting, the incident near Mitra’s doorstep has intensified calls for stronger measures to curb violence in this restive West Bengal district, spotlighting the vulnerability of even prominent political figures.