Violence at Tata Motors' site in Singur

KOLKATA: Violence erupted at the Tata Motors plant site in Singur today when police fired rubber bullets and teargas at Krishi Jami Rakhsha Committee activists when they hurled bombs and brickbats in a bid to enter the area.

IGP (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia said here that activists of the Committee, who gathered at Bajemelia for a "law violation" programme under the leadership of local Trinamool Congress MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya and Committee convener Becharam Manna, tried to break a police cordon in a bid to proceed to the Tata Motors' site.

After jostling with police, the activists hurled bombs and brickbats in a bid to break the cordon. Serampore's Sub-Divisional Police Officer Kalyan Banerjee and a constable were injured in the brickbatting.

Police then fired two teargas shells and one rubber bullet and carried out a "mild" baton-charge to disperse the crowd, he said.

Kanojia said several arrests were made but did not immediately provide figures.

The Committee has been resisting the acquisition of farm land for the Tata Motors' small car project.

The incident came against the backdrop of plans to hold an all-party meeting on May 24 to restore peace in Nandigram, which too has been rocked by violence since January over the acquisition of land for a proposed SEZ.