Several Left activists, including CPI-M central committee member Dipak Dasgupta, and some policemen were injured when Left workers clashed with police during a protest-march to the city police headquarters today.
The police resorted to latchicharge at Ganesh Chandra Avenue where the protesters broke barricades during the "march to Lalbazar" programme to protest against alleged police atrocity against people and their democratic rights.
A senior police officer said several police personnel were injured when Left workers resorted to brickbatting and stone- pelting.
CPI-M politburo member Mohammed Salim claimed, "Several of our leaders, including our central committee member Dipak dasgupta, were injured in the unprovoked police lathicharge."
CPI-M state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said, "We told them that a Left delegation will go and submit a memorandum. But they resorted to unprovoked lathicharge on our supporters. We condenm this. We want to tell Mamata Banerjee that the people of the state will give them a befitting reply," Mishra said.
He alleged that the brutal lathicharge was a proof of the barbaric and undemocratic attitute of the state administrtation.
The police said that they were forced to resort to lathicharge when attacked by the demonstrators in which some police personnel received injuries.
"More than 50 police personal were injured in the attack by the protestors. We are awaiting further reports," a senior police officer said.
Several of the injured, including women and the elderly, were admitted to nearby hospitals.
The Left's march to Lalbazar was organised within a month after a march to the state secretariat at Howrah which had also witnessed violence and September 2 general strike.
