Siliguri, March 3 -- Tensions erupted in Siliguri as clashes broke out between activists of the Left Front students' unions and the ruling Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) during a student's strike called by Left students' unions in response to the recent incident involving the convoy of state Education minister, Bratya Basu.
On Monday morning, All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) activists blocked a bus of University of North Bengal near Baghajatin Park, where TMCP supporters arrived and protested. A verbal altercation quickly escalated into a full-fledged clash between the two groups. The violent confrontation spread further when AIDSO activists moved near the Siliguri Girls' High School where Higher Secondary examination was going on, prompting another clash near the Court More. Later, SFI, AIDSO activists and TMCP clashed near the University of North Bengal when the left front students staged a protest in front of the gate of the university by locking the main gate.
The TMCP workers protested against the strike and a clash started between the two unions. A few of the protesting students were injured during the clash. Shahriyar Alam, an AIDSO activist, blamed the TMCP for attacking them. Meanwhile, Gopal Sarkar from the TMCP dismissed the allegations saying: "Today is the first day of the Higher Secondary exams and we were on the streets to ensure that students do not face any problems.
The Left front activists were causing trouble near the examination centre and we had to intervene to stop them. They attacked us in response," Sarkar stated.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.