In a midnight crackdown, police detains TET candidates; BJP says ‘WB or Hitler's Germany?’

Kolkata, Oct 21: In a high-voltage drama on Thursday night Kolkata Police detained Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) qualified candidates, who were staging a protest against omitting their names from the merit list in Salt Lake, and cleared protest site.

Also, Section 144 was reportedly imposed in the area where the protest was going on. Around 500 students were staging a sit-in protest outside the primary board office since Monday afternoon.

These candidates cleared TET in 2014. Recently, their names were omitted from the merit list. They were demanding an appointment letter for the teaching jobs and had been staging a protest for the last four days in Salt Lake, Kolkata.

The police asked them to clear the protest site, however, the candidates denied saying that they would not clear until they got an appointment letter.

The police reportedly took force to remove the candidates from protest sites. Some of the candidates were also detained on the bus.

The protesting candidate alleged that the police used force and abused some of the candidates, even women. While the police said that it used minimum force against the candidates.

"We were manhandled by the cops who dragged us away and dumped us in three waiting vehicles. Even women were physically abused," Shila Das, a protester alleged as quoted by PTI.

Following the incident, Bhartiya Janta Party slammed the chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led government and BJP Leader of Opposition in Bengal Suvendu Adhikari said that West Bengal's current situation is alarming.

He took to Twitter and wrote, "WB's current situation is alarming. Mamata Police applying brute force on agitating candidates of Teacher Eligibility Test 2014 candidates at Salt Lake to forcefully end their legitimate sit-in demonstration near the State Primary Education Board Office.

WB or Hitler's Germany?"

The BJP social media chief Amit Malviya said that the BJP Bengal would launch a massive protest against the midnight crackdown on the agitating candidates.

"In a hitleresque midnight crackdown, Mamata Banerjee used brute force to evict the agitating candidates of the Teacher Eligibility Test 2014, who were on a legitimate sit-in demonstration, near the State Primary Education Board Office. BJP Bengal will launch a massive protest..."