Six killed, 39 injured in Nandigram firing

Villagers try to prevent police from entering the area.

Nandigram turned into a battleground again as police entered the villages and clashed with thousands of villagers protesting against the acquisition of land for a special economic zone (SEZ). At least six people were killed and 39 injured.

The villagers, united under the banner of the 'Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee' (Committee to Prevent Farmland Acquisition), stopped police at Bhangaberi area in Nandigram, 150 km from here, triggering a violent face-off.

While the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) and the Trinamool Congress have called for a 12-hour Bengal bandh, the BJP has called for a 24-hour shutdown on Friday. The Congress has decided to support the bandh.

State Director General of Police Anup Vohra said the bodies had been sent for post-mortem. State Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy described the situation at Nandigram as tense and said police had taken control of Sonachura, a strong base of the protesters.

According to reports, police entered the disputed area "" which has been a forbidden zone since January when six people were killed in a similar clash-""from three sides, Chandipur, Tekhali bridge and Bhangabera bridge, with an aim to encircle Nandigram.

People gathered at several points to stop them by digging up roads and erecting barricades. Thousands of people, armed with bamboo sticks, came out of their homes. While some shouted slogans, others read scriptures and sang bhajans.

On July 31 last year, the state government had signed an agreement with the Salim Group to implement various developmental projects, including a mega chemical industrial estate, to be spread over 10,000 acres. Construction of a four-lane road bridge over the Haldi river, from Haldia to Nandigram, was also proposed.

Demanding Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's resignation, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said, "The CPI(M) has unleashed a death procession. What is Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee doing is not development. He is killing people to set up industry. He must resign."

She said the government should defer the higher secondary examination starting on Friday by a day.

The issue echoed in the Assembly, too, with the Trinamool and Congress legislators walking out.

Trinamool legislator from the area, Subhendu Adhikari said, "The police brutally fired at innocent and unarmed villagers when they were prevented from entering the village.