Curfew lifted in Kolkata
Friday, 23 November 2007
KOLKATA, Nov 22 (Agencies): Authorities lifted a curfew Thursday in India's riot-hit eastern capital Kolkata a day after thousands hurled rocks and damaged vehicles to protest violence by state government supporters.
Army soldiers were called out and a night curfew imposed on four areas of the eastern city formerly known as Calcutta after protestors torched about 40 buses and exploded a few homemade bombs Wednesday. There were reports of violence Thursday.
"The area is crawling back to normalcy. The army will continue to patrol in the sensitive area of the troubled zone," Kolkata's police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarty said.
The official said anti-riot troops, policemen in plain clothes and more than 200 soldiers were deployed to maintain order.
Dozens of people were injured and more than 200 detained in the protest called by a Muslim group angered over violence in West Bengal's majority- Muslim Nandigram district, where 34 people have died since January.
The protests by the All India Minority Front, a grouping led by a local Muslim politician, were against killings in the Nandigram area of the state and exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin, the Press Trust said.
The incident took place as parliament debated the Nandigram dispute, which had begun over the state government's plan to set up an industrial park.
Nandigram has been wracked by violence since March when police clashed with villagers protesting the acquisition of their land for the project, leading to the death of 14 people. While the industrial-zone plan was canceled, more than seven people have subsequently been killed when protesters clashed with communists.
The issue has also polarized opinion in West Bengal, with some communists such as former state finance minister Ashoke Mitra criticizing the state government.
Human rights groups and opposition politicians such as Mamata Banerjee have accused the communists of seeking to re- establish their control of Nandigram by force.
Army soldiers were called out and a night curfew imposed on four areas of the eastern city formerly known as Calcutta after protestors torched about 40 buses and exploded a few homemade bombs Wednesday. There were reports of violence Thursday.
"The area is crawling back to normalcy. The army will continue to patrol in the sensitive area of the troubled zone," Kolkata's police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarty said.
The official said anti-riot troops, policemen in plain clothes and more than 200 soldiers were deployed to maintain order.
Dozens of people were injured and more than 200 detained in the protest called by a Muslim group angered over violence in West Bengal's majority- Muslim Nandigram district, where 34 people have died since January.
The protests by the All India Minority Front, a grouping led by a local Muslim politician, were against killings in the Nandigram area of the state and exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin, the Press Trust said.
The incident took place as parliament debated the Nandigram dispute, which had begun over the state government's plan to set up an industrial park.
Nandigram has been wracked by violence since March when police clashed with villagers protesting the acquisition of their land for the project, leading to the death of 14 people. While the industrial-zone plan was canceled, more than seven people have subsequently been killed when protesters clashed with communists.
The issue has also polarized opinion in West Bengal, with some communists such as former state finance minister Ashoke Mitra criticizing the state government.
Human rights groups and opposition politicians such as Mamata Banerjee have accused the communists of seeking to re- establish their control of Nandigram by force.