Congress strike paralyses West Bengal

Life in West Bengal was paralysed on Friday due to a 24-hour strike called by the Opposition Congress demanding a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the personal ledger accounts.

Sporadic incidents of police firing, bomb explosions and ransacking of government offices were reported, said state Home Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya.

While Congress legislator Gabitri Mitra was admitted to hospital after he was injured in police caning in Malda, two of his colleagues Daulat Ali and Sudhir Bhattacharya were arrested for leading demonstrations at Diamond Harbour and Falta in South 24-Parganas district.

Shops, markets, educational institutions and commercial establishments remained closed. Banks and Life Insurance Corporation offices did not function in response to a strike call given by bank unions.

Left Front leader Biman Bose said the strike had failed despite the use of force by the Congress.

Bhattacharya said the police fired two rounds in the air after an assistant sub-inspector was injured in a bomb attack in front of Birlapur jute mill.

He said attendance in both government and private offices varied between 50 and 75 per cent. The Congress disputed the figure and claimed that the attendance was between 10 and 28 per cent.

The Congress alleged that CPI-M workers attacked party supporters with bombs and brickbats at several places in the city and districts.