Bengal Cong demands action against FM channel

Kolkata, Sep 29 (UNI) The West Bengal Pradesh Congress today urged Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi to initiate action against the FM channel that allegedly fuelled tension leading to a violence in Siliguri yesterday.

''We have urged the Information and Broadcasting Minister to take action against the channel that created the tension,'' PCC Working President Pradip Bhattacharjee told reporters.

Describing yesterday's violence as "unfortunate", Mr Bhattacharjee said Prashant Tamang, who was adjudged the Indian idol recently, was the pride of all and the violence should not have taken place.

An indefinite curfew was clamped from 1700 hrs yesterday and the Army staged a flagmarch in this North Bengal town, where people went on a rampage following an alleged remark by a Delhi FM channel about Indian Idol-3 Prashant Tamang.

The trouble erupted when a procession was on its way to submit a memorandum to the Siliguri sub-divisional officer in this regard. An ambulance got stranded due to the rally, resulting in a feud between the patient's family and the agitators.

Police had to fire 125 rounds of teargas shells and seven rounds in the air to control the situation.

But the protestors attacked the police and damaged two vehicles, compelling them to use lathis in which 30 people sustained injuries.

UNI