By IANS
Nandigram/Kolkata : Gun battles broke out in Nandigram Saturday as activists of the ruling Left in West Bengal clashed with a group protesting land acquisition, a day after a policeman was seriously wounded in violence there.
Police had to fire in the air to quell the clashing mobs in the Tekhali bridge area of Nandigram where the gun battle broke out at 8 a.m., East Midnapore Superintendent of Police Anil Srinivasan told IANS.
"The situation is peaceful now. There are no casualties," Srinivasan said even as locals in Nandigram reported that three people had been injured in the shootings and bombings.
The Tekhali bazaar area where the violence broke out was on the Khejuri side, a base of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) from where their cadres attacked villagers of Nandigram.
On Saturday, both sides blamed each other for the clashes. The CPI-M said the fresh violence was triggered by the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), which is waging a battle against farmland acquisition for industry.
"The attacks were launched by CPI-M because the violence occurred in Tekhali bazaar, which is near Khejuri," Trinamool leader Partha Chattopadhayay said in Kolkata.
Three people were arrested during the clash, police said.
Trinamool Congress, one of the main constituents of BUPC, also took out a procession in Nandigram Saturday morning, triggering more tension in the area.
Violence flared up Friday with a policeman sustained bullet injuries in his head as the two groups clashed.
At least 21 people have been killed, hundreds injured and several raped in Nandigram in protests since January against a proposed special economic zone (SEZ) being set up in collaboration with Indonesia's Salim Group. Following the violence, the SEZ plan was scrapped by the state government.
Thousands of people belonging to both the CPI-M and its opposition BUPC have been living in camps since the flare-up.