The death of a Trinamool Congress worker allegedly in police custody resulted in violence at Dhanekhali in Hooghly district on Saturday.
Several police personnel were injured in stone-throwing by the locals.
Kazi Naseeruddin, a local Trinamool leader, arrested on Friday, allegedly died in police custody at the Dhanekhali station.
According to Sabeer Ali, a relative of the victim and a Trinamool leader, he saw Naseeruddin lying naked and motionless and surrounded by several policemen when he went to the station during the day.
He said the victim, who had a scuffle with police personnel before his arrest on a trivial charge, was severely beaten up before being taken to the station.
After the news of the death spread, people came out on the streets and laid a siege to the police station. A large number of police personnel were deployed to control the situation which remained volatile.
Superintendent of Police Tanmay Roychaudhury said an FIR had been registered and investigations were on.
“Whether the death was caused due to beating or not can only be ascertained after the post-mortem,” he said, adding several police personnel were also injured in the violence.
State Congress spokesman Abdul Mannan alleged that it was a “premeditated” murder.
“Naseeruddin was disillusioned with the Trinamool and was thinking of quitting it. He has been killed in a pre-planned manner by his own party men,” Mr. Manna claimed.
Local Trinamool MLA Ashima Patra admitted that the victim was an active party worker and said she had asked the police to conduct an impartial investigation.
Published - January 19, 2013 05:39 pm IST
