Sources said the All Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU) activists had launched a 12-hour blockade at different places on National Highway-31 this morning to demand a separate Kamtapur state and Scheduled Tribe status for the Koch-Rajbongshis.
AKRSU leaders had blocked the highway at Rakhaldubi and district administration authorities reached the spot in the afternoon and asked the protestors to immediately lift the blockade and clear the road, official sources said.
AKRSU activists began pelting stones at the police and officials. The police retaliated and as the situation turned worse, they tear-gassed the protestors and also used rubber bullets to disperse them, the sources said.
As the protestors dispersed, they set ablaze a tea-leaf carrying truck and damaged several vehicles, sources added.
The police has taken nearly hundred protestors under preventive custody. The situation was currently under control though tension prevailed in the area.
A strict vigil was being maintained in the area and vehicles, though few in number, were moving in a convoy under heavy security.
Meanwhile, AKRSU has called a 48-hour bandh from 6 a.M tomorrow to protest against today's incident.
