KOLKATA: The recovery of a teenage girl's body erupted violence in North Dinajpur district’s Chopra, West Bengal, on Sunday.
Alleging the minor was raped and murdered, a large group of 200 locals put up a roadblock on the National Highway that connects Kolkata to North Bengal. They set three government buses and one police vehicle ablaze. Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the violent protesters.
The police said a group of local people squatted on the arterial thoroughfare demanding immediate arrest of the culprit responsible for the girl’s death. "We assured them of conducting a high-level investigation while trying to pacify the agitators. The situation worsened when some local leaders of a political party issued statements instigating the assembled locals," said an officer of Chopra police station.
As the police personnel, who arrived the spot, were outnumbered against the mob, reinforcement was sought. Personnel of Rapid Action Force (RAF) stepped in and the agitators turned violent, said the police.
"As the RAF personnel started chasing the demonstrators, bombs were hurled targeting the policemen. The agitators first set one of our vehicles on fire and then targeted the buses of the state transport department. They broke open the fuel tanks and sprinkled diesel on three buses before setting them ablaze," said the police officer.
The police had to rain baton on the protesters to disperse them. Till now, no one has been arrested for the arson and attack on policemen but the cops said a separate case was registered.