Opposition parties, including the Left and the BJP, staged road blockades in various parts of North Bengal after two students at Islampur in North Dinajpur district died of bullet injuries following clashes with the police.
The students of Daribhit High School in Islampur bordering Bihar were allegedly protesting against the appointment of Urdu and Sanskrit teachers keeping Bengali, History and other departments vacant.
Following clashes on Thursday a number of people including students and some policemen sustained bullet and other injuries, police said. Out of them one student died on Thursday and the other died at Siliguri on Friday leading to massive protest by the locals who said the police had fired at the protesting students.
However district SP Punit Kumar said the police had not fired at the crowd. “There was a skirmish and the police had to use force to control the crowd but there was no firing as per reports coming now.” He however said the autopsy reports would give a clear picture as to what led to the deaths.
The SP said some people including “some BJP supporters have been arrested for inciting the crowd.”
Meanwhile at least 10 other people were admitted to various hospitals and were undergoing treatment.
While the BJP immediately demanded a CBI investigation into the case and the Left asked for a judicial inquiry from Kolkata Education Minister Partho Chatterjee blamed the right wing parties for creating trouble in the region.
“We know who are creating trouble there. There are reports that the BJP is involved. But we can assure you that no one will be spared and strict action will be taken against those who are responsible,” he said adding the district inspector of schools have been suspended for failing to handle the situation.