“HORRIFIC”
On Tuesday, police clashed with protesters, firing tear gas canisters and water cannons, and arresting at least 245 people.
That prompted BJP supporters on Wednesday to launch a day-long shutdown of Kolkata, with skirmishes against AITMC supporters in the morning.
Protesters erected barricades to close roads and railway lines, with police reporting clashes between rival workers across the city and in adjoining districts.
Arjun Singh, a former BJP lawmaker, alleged his party loyalists were attacked by supporters of Banerjee’s AITMC, and two people were injured.
AITMC “activists blocked the roads to prevent BJP supporters from marching”, Singh told AFP.
“Train services were disrupted as protestors squatted on railway tracks,” Kousik Mitra, a senior railways official told AFP.
Police later enforced an uneasy peace between them and their rivals.
