At least five persons were injured when the police fired rubber bullets, after teargas and a lathicharge proved ineffective in dispersing villagers at Singur, who resisted fencing in the area earmarked for the Tata Motors small car project on Saturday.
A group of villagers pelted stones at the police when they were stopped from entering the fields at Joymolla village where the fencing work was on, police said.
Police then resorted to lathicharge and chased them away. Five persons were injured in the lathicharge. They were arrested, police said.
The Trinamool Congress immediately called for a road and rail roko.
As the tension mounted with villagers coming out of their homes at Beraberi, Ghaserberi to resist fencing work, police burst teargas shells and fired rubber bullets, they said.
Some villagers alleged that the police entered their homes, beat them up and set on fire their stocks of paddy.
A massive police force was deployed at the spot under DIG (Midnapore) NR Babu.
Mukul Roy, general sectretary of the Trinamool Congress, which was spearheading the movement against the acquisition of farmland for the Tata project, alleged in Kolkata that the police resorted to firing.
{{/usCountry}}Mukul Roy, general sectretary of the Trinamool Congress, which was spearheading the movement against the acquisition of farmland for the Tata project, alleged in Kolkata that the police resorted to firing.
{{/usCountry}}Leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee complained that he was stopped by the police when he was going to Singur.
He claimed that TC MLA from Singur Rabindranath Bhattacharya was injured and arrested.