Police use tear gas, water cannon in clash with BJP workers in Kolkata

india

Updated: Sep 11, 2019 19:17 IST

Police charged batons, water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse BJP supporters in Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon when they were protesting against electricity tariffs in the state capital.

A few agitators were hit by the batons in the head. Two water cannons were deployed to thwart the movement of the agitators.

“About 50 of our supporters were injured. We wanted to conduct a peaceful agitation, but the state did not allow it. There was no provocation from our part,” said state BJP unit general secretary Sayantan Basu.

“Tear gas shells and water cannons are being charged at us. The police attacked us even when we were trying to demonstrate peacefully,” said BJP state unit vice president Raju Banerjee.

A large contingent of policemen led by a deputy commissioner of Kolkata Police was deployed in the area.

Several hundred BJP supporters began the rally from the state office in Muralidhar Sen Lane in north Kolkata. Their destination was Esplanade at the heart of Kolkata where the head office of CESC Ltd, the private power generation and distribution utility.

The procession was led by Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee, state BJP Yuva Morcha president Debjit Sarkar and state unit vice president Raju Banerjee.

At the beginning of the rally, Debjit Sarkar said that they intended to submit a deputation to the authorities CESC protesting their high tariffs. The police erected three layers of barricade to prevent the movement of the agitators.

The police took away many of the agitators in buses. Water cannons were charged when the agitators tried to breach the first layer of barricade on Chittaranjan Avenue and scuffles began with the police.

The agitation led to traffic snarls since Chittaranjan Avenue is the main arterial road that connects Esplanade with north Kolkata.