KOLKATA: Police lobbed teargas shells and resorted to lathicharge to disperse a large number of BJP supporters who allegedly broke barricades and tried to march into Writers’ Buildings, the state Secretariat on Tuesday.
The BJP supporters had gathered outside the Secretariat in protest againt many issues, including unemployment, increase in electricity tariff, and price hike of essential commodities.
Several police personnel and BJP supporters were injured in the incident. The police arrested a few BJP supporters from the spot. Traffic movement was thrown out of gear in the busy Central Kolkata areas following the protest.
The trouble began after a large number of BJP activists, who had gathered at four points as part of the agitation, tried to proceed towards the Secretariat by breaking barricades set up by the police, near the city police headquarters at Lalbazar. The BJP supporters allegedly threw stones at the police personnel and damaged glass panes of some private cars. The police at first resorted to lathi charge to disperse the agitating party workers and then lobbed tear gas shells to quell the mob.
BJP state president Rahul Sinha, who was injured in the incident said the
police action as ‘unprovoked’. He said that their agitation was peaceful. Suddenly the police chased party workers and a lathi charge ensued. As a result of the police attack, more than 50 party workers were injured and some of them were hospitalised, he added.