By IANS
Kolkata : A 12-hour Nandigram shutdown Saturday called to protest the death of a villager in clashes with cadres of West Bengal’s ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) seriously affected life in the area.
“The shutdown is peaceful. We have made adequate police arrangements to tackle any violent situation,” East Midnapore superintendent of police G. Srinivas told IANS.
Srinivas said police personnel have been deployed in the violence-hit areas in Nandigram in East Midnapore district, about 150 km from Kolkata.
The Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) anti-land acquisition group, which comprises the Trinamool Congress and other political groups, called the shutdown to protest the death of a member, Mahadeb Mondal, in firing by CPI-M supporters Friday.
According to police sources, Mondal was killed during a gun battle between CPI-M and BUPC activists near Ranichak in the troubled area.
At least 25 people were killed, hundreds injured and some women raped in Nandigram in protests since January against a proposed special economic zone (SEZ) and a chemical hub planned there in collaboration with Indonesia’s Salim Group.
Though the West Bengal government scrapped the SEZ plan, the area continues to remain on the boil.