Agitators clash with police near Singur

Special Correspondent
The Hindu, 29 January

KOLKATA: Trouble broke out at different points leading to Singur in Hooghly district on Sunday when activists of the Trinamool Congress-led Krishi Jami Raksha (Save Farmland) Committee clashed with the police. The police prevented the activists from going to the Tata Motors' project site. The activists were participating in a "march to Singur' programme to protest against the project, violating prohibitory orders, which are in force in Singur.

Eleven policemen were injured in scuffles with the protesters in the Dankuni and Baidyabati areas — two of the four points in the district where the demonstrators had congregated with plans to converge on Singur, according to Inspector-General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia. Four of them had to be taken to hospital.

The police burst tear gas shells and used lathis and water canons to disperse the demonstrators who tried to break through the police cordon. Some protesters were armed with bamboo poles.