Violent protest against adivasi leaders' arrest in Jalpaiguri

Three persons were injured as police fired rubber bullets to disperse a mob that set ablaze a police station and blockaded roads during a 12-hour bandh in the district to protest arrest of four leaders of an adivasi outfit last night.

Three persons were injured as police fired rubber bullets to disperse a mob that set ablaze a police station and blockaded roads during a 12-hour bandh in the district on Thursday to protest arrest of four leaders of an adivasi outfit last night.

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Police lathicharged, burst tear gas shells and fired rubber bullets when members of Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP) gheraoed Nagrakata police station and set on fire the old-wooden building and an adjacent canteen, police said.

The agitators also blockaded roads at Nagrakata and Chalsa areas to protest the arrest last night of four ABAVP leaders who were allegedly involved in a recent clash with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which is demanding a separate statehood of Gorkhaland, they said.

The clash between GJM and ABAVP took place at Nagrakata in mid-January when supporters of the former were moving in a procession from Gorubathan to Malbazar for a meeting.

Police said rapid action force has been deployed in the area and the situation was tense but under control.

The bandh affected normal life and traffic, especially on the arterial NH 31 route.