Police official beaten to death by villagers

Haldia, Feb 7 (UNI) A police officer was killed when irate villagers clashed with police near here today during a violence over land acquisition at Bhabanipur near here.

Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said Mr.Sadhu Chatterjee, a Sub-Inspector of the Intelligence Branch, was beaten to death by the villagers.

However, his body was yet to be recovered by police, Mr.Ray said.

Official sources said altogether ten people had been arrested in connection with the violence in which the villagers torched a police vehicle and damaged the local panchayat office.

A large contingent of police was deployed in the area, adjacent to Nandigram, following the incident.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee called the Home Secretary and the Inspector General of Police(Law and Order) Raj Kanojia for a meerting in the state Secretariat to review the situation in the area.

The incident occurred after a police force entered the village on the information that villagers went on a ramapage in the panchayat office and severely beat up a few CPI(M) workers following a reported land acquisition move for a proposed SEZ.

UNI