Violence erupts afresh at Tata's site in Singur

Violence erupted at the Tata Motors' small car project here today when activists of a Trinamool Congress-backed group opposed to the acquisition of land for industry, hurled bombs and brickbats in a bid to enter the site, prompting police to fire rubber bullets and teargas to disperse them.

Members of the Krishi Jomi Raksha Committee, who gathered at Bajemelia for a "law violation" programme under the leadership of local Trinamool MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya and Committee convener Becharam Manna, tried to break a police cordon to enter the project site, IGP (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia said in Kolkata.

After jostling with the police, they hurled bombs and brickbats in a bid to break the cordon. Chandanagore's sub- divisional police officer Kalyan Mukherjee and a constable were injured in the brickbatting, Kanojia said.

Police fired one rubber bullet when teargas and a baton-charge failed to disperse the crowd.

Kanojia said several arrests were made but could not immediately provide the figures.

Manna said that the law violation programme was joined by farmers who had not consented to give up their land for the project, on which work had already begun. Five activists of the Committee were injured, he said.

The incident came against the backdrop of plans for an all-party meeting to be held on May 24 to restore peace in Nandigram, which too has been rocked by violence since January over the acquisition of land for a proposed SEZ.