Agitating locals set Kaliaganj police station on fire

Kaliaganj: A group of locals set fire to Kaliaganj police station in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district on Tuesday to protest against the death of a teenage girl whose body was found in a canal last week.

People allegedly belonging to the Adivasi and Rajbangshi communities organised a "Thana gherao" programme on Tuesday afternoon protesting against alleged “police inaction” in the case.

They broke barricades and threw stones at the police station, an officer said.

The police personnel started a baton charge but could not stop the mob from entering the police station and setting it on fire, he said.

One vehicle was also set ablaze.

"We are trying to bring the situation under control," the IPS officer told PTI.

On April 21, the body of the 17-year-old girl was found floating in a canal in Kaliaganj. Alleging that she was raped and killed, locals had put up road blockades by burning tyres and set several shops on fire.

The incident triggered a war of words between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP ahead of the panchayat election in the state.

The TMC accused the saffron party of trying to "politicise and communalise" the matter, as BJP demanded a CBI probe and promised legal aid to the girl’s family.