Fresh unrest in Beldanga: Railway, road link hit for second day; 30 people detained

KOLKATA: Fresh unrest erupted in Murshidabad’s Beldanga area on Saturday, a day after widespread violence had already disrupted normal life, as protesters once again blocked National Highway-12 and railway tracks, crippling road and rail connectivity. Abhishek Banerjee, addressing a road show in Berhampore, condemned the vandalism and appealed to protesters to remain peaceful. The agitation is linked to the death of Alauddin Sheikh, a migrant worker from Beldanga whose body was found under suspicious circumstances in Jharkhand earlier this week. Family members have alleged that he was assaulted and the incident was later passed off as a suicide, triggering anger across the region. Tensions further escalated following reports that another migrant worker from the district, Anisur Sheikh, was allegedly assaulted in Bihar.

On Saturday, protesters assembled near Barua More, bringing NH-12 to a standstill and halting train movement on the Lalgola section after blocking railway tracks, with some railway infrastructure reportedly damaged. The protests followed violent demonstrations on Friday, when roads were blocked and vehicles vandalised, prompting heavy police deployment. Murshidabad Superintendent of Police Kumar Sunny Raj said negotiations with agitators failed, forcing police to resort to a baton charge to disperse the crowd and restore order, with 30 people detained, including local political leaders. Eastern Railway suspended train services between Krishnanagar and Lalgola and rushed additional RPF and RPSF personnel from Kolkata, while the General Manager informed the Railway Board chairman of the situation. On Friday, two journalists from a vernacular daily were attacked, and on Saturday two more journalists were assaulted during the violence; the SP condemned the attacks and said action would be taken against those responsible.