Police lathicharge at Singur; Naxal leader Kanu detained

Singur (WB), Dec 08: Police today stopped the activists of a Naxalite outfit on way to Singur and resorted to lathicharge in which three scribes were injured while veteran Naxal leader Kanu Sanyal was detained at Noapara in North 24-Parganas. The CPI-ML (Liberation) activists led by its general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya took out a procession from Seoraphuli and tried to break the police cordon. Police then resorted to lathicharge to disperse them, police sources said. Three newsmen were injured in the lathicharge. The Naxalites, however, continued their march even after the police action. Police reinforcements were rushed to stop them. Describing the incident as "unfortunate", Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told reporters in Kolkata that an incident had occurred at Singur. "There was a scuffle. I am enquiring about it," he said. CPI(ML) general secretary Kanu Sanyal and three others were detained at a ferry jetty when they were about to cross the River Hooghly in a mechanised boat en route to Singur. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who was on an indefinite fast in Kolkata, condemned the police lathicharge and said it showed that the lf government has imposed an undeclared emergency in the state. Even the journalists were not allowed to move freely.