350 arrested, 6 securitymen injured in violence marred Bandh

Kolkata, Jan 8 (UNI) Life was partially affected by the violence marred opposition sponsored 24-hour Bangla bandh with 6 security personnel injured and more than 350 people arrested from different parts of the state.

DIG (Midnapore Range) N R Babu confirmed that four policemen were injured in a clash with the villagers in Nandigram in East Midnapore district this morning.

IG(Law and Order) Raj Kanojia, however, told UNI that though no major untoward incident has so far been reported elsewhere from the state, more than 350 bandh supporters were arrested while trying to put up blockades and stop vehicles forcibly.

A group of people burnt down the CPI(M) party office at log-gate at Dinabandhupur village under Nandigram PS as sporadic incidents of group clashes poured in from the area since midnight last night.

Most of the shops in the city downed their shutters and financial inistitutions also remained closed. Most of the school and colleges also remained closed today.

Though some vehicles were on the roads, the city generally sported a holiday look.

However, the scene in the city turned violent in South Kolkata's Hazra areas considered to be a stronghold of the opposition.

Congress, SUCI, and Trinamool Congress supporters engaged in series of clashes with the police while trying to put up blockades.

Police and RAF resorted to lathicharge to quell the agitationists and arrested several supporters. Congress leader Subroto Mukherjee also courted arrest. Two RAF jawans were injured in stone pelting.

Heavy deplyoment of police and paramilitary forces in different parts of the city made sure that there was no untoward incident.

However, sporadic incidents of violence marred the bandh process.

Buses were attacked by Bandh supporters at Amherst Street, Cornwallis Street, Pailan, Behala and other parts of the city.

Train services were severly affected as Congress and Trinamool supporters put up blockades at several places. At Ramrajatola in Howrah district, Congress and RPF had a scuffle as they tried to put up a blockade. Bandh supporters also squatted on the tracks at Katwa, Rampurhat, Sreerampore, Rishra and Kamarpukur sections of Eastern Railways.

Reports from North 24 Parganas said that bandh had a little impact in the CPI(M) dominated areas in Barrackpore, Barasat, Basirhat and Bidhannagar Sub-divisions. However, the bandh had an effect in bangaon and movement on National Highway 35 was affected. Vehicular movement to and from Petrapol, International border with Bangladesh near Bangaon was totally paralysed.

Train service along the main section of the Sealdah division of Eastern Railway was disrupted as bandh supporters led by Trinamool Congress leader and MLA Arjun Singh blocked tracks at Kankinara station while SUCI did the same at Shyamnagar.

Barring a number of jute mills in the industrial subdivision of Barrackpore most of the factories and mills functioned almost normally, including the two ordnance factories.

Bandh was total in Nadia district and Midnapore and vehicular movement along National Highway 34 had come to a standstill.

However, the other industrial belts of West Bengal functioned normally. The tea gardens also functioned like the other days.

West Bengal Pradesh Congress and CPI(ML) had called 24-hour Bangla Bandh protesting against the Saturday night's violent clashes in Nadigram that left seven dead. All India Trinamool Congress's Krishi Jami Raskya Committee(committee for protection of farm land) issue also called a 12-hour statewide bandh from 0600 hours today on the same ground.

UNI