Purulia, July 27: A 12-hour Bengal bandh called by the Jharkhand Disom Party (JDP) to protest the operation by security forces on Monday crippled life in many areas of the tribal belt in Purulia district and some parts of the adjoining Hooghly and Burdwan districts.
Security forces after their operation against Maoists in West Midnapore district had launched a similar drive in neighbouring Purulia district from Saturday.
In Burdwan district, JDP supporters forced shop-owners at Raina Bazar, 30 km from Burdwan town, to down shutters in protest against alleged harassment of tribals by security forces during their operation against Maoists.
Police claimed a young shop owner collapsed and died of a cardiac arrest when he saw the agitators approaching his shop.
A total bandh was observed in the tribal-inhabited areas of Bandwan and Baghmundi in Purulia district, where markets were closed and vehicles stayed off the roads.
The Durgapur Expressway in Hooghly district was blocked for several hours. As a result, former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s car taking him to Bolpur in Birbhum district was stranded. So was the car of president of the state Trinamool Congress, Subroto Baxi, going to Nanoor in Birbhum district.
Train movement was disrupted on the South-Eastern Railway’s Adra division and Madhukunda and Barabhum sections for over two hours in the morning by agitating party supporters.
The Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express and some other long-distance trains were detained by the slogan-shouting supporters in the Barabhum area in the district.
The National Highway-34 was also blocked by the party workers between Balarampur and Barabazar in west Purulia till noon that left a large number of vehicles stranded.
The protestors also demanded development of tribals areas and introduction of Santhali language in universities in the state.
–Agencies