Trinamool workers protest against Bengal minister’s arrest

Kolkata, Dec 13 (IANS) Thousands of Trinamool Congress supporters Saturday blocked roads, forcibly closed shops and brought out rallies across West Bengal, protesting against the arrest of minister Madan Mitra by the CBI in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.

Mitra’s supporters had an exchange of words with police in Alipore, where he was presented before a court during the day. Mitra was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Friday.

Traffic in central Kolkata came to a standstill for hours as a large number of Trinamool supporters as also members of various clubs and sports enthusiasts organised a protest rally near the statue of football legend Gostho Pal in the maidan area, the hub of sports here.

Near Bhavani Bhawan, the headquarters of police, supporters of Mitra almost came to blows with police.

Shopkeepers in Jadu Babu’s Bazar in south Kolkata’s Bhowanipore – where Mitra’s ancestral home is located – allegedly had to down their shutters after being threatened by the minister’s supporters.

The party’s workers clashed with opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist cadres at the railway station in Burdwan.

Raod blocks were put up at various points in the city and the districts by the slogan shouting Trinamool activists, who termed Mitra’s arrest a “political conspiracy” hatched by the CBI at the prompting of the BJP government at the centre.