After Singur, Midnapore's miffed

Nandigram: After Singur, it's Nandigram in Bengal's East Midnapore district where peasants are up in arms against proposed acquisition of agricultural land.

On Wednesday, thousands of farmers armed with sticks and firearms clashed with the police in East Midnapore's Nandigram village over a notice on land records.

The notice was allegedly sent by district authorities to the local panchayat.

However, the state government has denied sending any notification.

Almost a 100,000 people have joined in the protest and all party lines have been dissolved with everyone coming together for a complete bandh.

The protestors under the banner of the Krishi Jami Bachao Committee (Save Farm Land Committee) placed trees and boulders on the Nandigram-Sonachura road that leads to the village after the incident to bar the entry of policemen.

The acquisition notice coupled with bad irrigation facilities in the area has caused for the people to call the bandh.

Farmers from the village ransacked government vehicles and torched a police van. The police battled protesting farmers for several hours and fired 15 rounds in the air.

The clashes took place when officials went there to acquire land for a proposed SEZ project by Indonesia's Salim Group.

Eyewitnesses and the Trinamool Congress, which is spearheading the campaign against acquisition of farmland for industries, alleged the police fired in the air during the clash.

Witnesses also said police arrived in four vans and baton-charged protestors to disperse them.

The people then threw stones at the police, leading to firing in the air, they alleged.

District Magistrate Anup Agarwal said there was firing in the air, but he could not say whether police had opened fire.

IGP (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia, too said in Kolkata that the police had not fired any rounds.

Leader of Opposition and Trinamool Congress, Partha Chatterjee, claimed in Kolkata that police did a baton-charge in which five persons were injured.

A police vehicle was set on fire and 15 policemen were injured in brick-batting by the mob, police said.

According to senior police officers, villagers attacked them with sticks, swords and indigenous firearms. They snatched a rifle and set fire to police vehicles. Several policemen were injured in the altercation.

Although, West Bengal's Chief Minister

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has denied reports of any such notice being sent, the state government does plan to acquire several thousand acres of land in the area for setting up a Special Economic Zone and a chemical hub.

(With inputs from Aneik Paul)

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