senior police officer was injured after hundreds of activists of the Adivasi Kurmi Samaj on Monday put up a rail block near Kustaur railway station in West Midnapore, demanding that they be included in the Scheduled Tribe list.
Train services in various parts were affected following the rail block.
The demonstration took an ugly turn when a clash broke out between the agitators and the police, when the latter urged them to lift the rail block. The mob turned violent and pelted stones on the police personnel.
The sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) was injured after being hit by a stone on his face. Eventually, police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the mob.
A huge contingent of police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
Police said that activists of the Adivasi Kurmi Samaj tried to block train movement between Kharagpur and Jamshedpur by blocking the tracks at Sardiaha. However, a police team led by SDPO, Jhargram, Vivek Verma prevented them from block the track.
The agitators became furious and engaged in a heated altercation with the police personnel.
When police told them to lift the rail blockade, the agitators used harsh language with the police. Soon, a scuffle broke out between the police and the demonstrators.
The Kurmi Samaj activists then threw stones on the policemen, further exacerbating the situation.
During the stone-throwing, a projectile struck Verma on the face and injured his nose. Police were then forced to resort to lathi-charge to disperse the demonstrators from the spot.
The situation was eventually brought under control by the police.
Members of the community claimed that they had been a part of the Scheduled Tribe list before Independence, but now they are not in the list.
As a result, they have been denied certain facilities that are being given to other communities listed by the government.
They also alleged that they have been demanding for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe list for some time, but the government is not listening to their appeal. To vent their anger, they decided to put a rail block asking that their demands be met.
South Eastern Railway train services were partially affected due to the agitation. Purulia-Villupuram Express originated from Adra, instead of Purulia, and was rescheduled. Adra-Purulia MEMU Passenger was cancelled on Monday.
Purulia-Howrah Express was diverted via Chandil-Tatanagar-Kharagpur; Chhapra-Tatanagar Express was diverted via Bhojudih–Bokaro; Garbeta-Bankura-Ranchi Passenger via Bhojudih–Bokaro and Tatanagar-Danapur Express were diverted via Purulia-Bokaro –Rajabera.