By IANS
Kolkata : Fresh tension erupted Friday at the Tata Motors small car factory site in West Bengal’s Singur when about 30 members of an anti-land acquisition group forcibly entered the fenced-off area and staged a protest against the arrest of their leaders earlier in the day.
Agitated members of the Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (SKJRC), led by Trinamool Congress leader and Singur MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya, entered the factory site in Hooghly district. They were up in arms against the arrest of SKJRC convener Becharam Manna and seven others who staged a demonstration on Durgapur Expressway in Singur in the morning.
“About 30 members of the civil society group (SKJRC) entered the Tata Motors site. No one has been arrested so far. Police are keeping a watch on the situation,” West Bengal Inspector General (Law and order) Raj Kanojia told IANS.
Sources said SKJRC members planned to hold a demonstration on the Durgapur Expressway as the news broke out that Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant would visit the small car project site Friday.
Manna and seven other members of SKJRC staged a road blockade on the expressway in the morning and were arrested on charges of breaching peace in the area, said Asit Pal, Hooghly additional superintendent of police.
“All the eight SKJRC activists will be produced in court,” Pal added.
Condemning the arrests, Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra said his party would stage more agitations across Howrah, Hooghly and Burdwan district and campaign against land acquisition.
“Prohibitory orders have not been imposed at the Tata Motors construction site. So police cannot arrest our people if they assemble there peacefully,” Mitra said.
He said Trinamool Youth Congress activists would show black flags to all Tata Motors’ officials whenever they visit Kolkata or the factory site in Singur.
Around 997 acres of land have been chosen by Tata Motors for its small car project in Singur, around 47 km from here.
The issue has triggered a violent face-off between the West Bengal government and farmers led by civil society groups and parties like the Trinamool Congress.