Police in West Bengal’s Purulia district arrested 29 members of the Kurmi community after they attacked officers during a heated protest at Kotshila railway station. Officials shared the update on Monday, following the chaos on Saturday.
The Kurmi community, pushing hard for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, blocked railway tracks to make their demands heard. The clash left at least six police officers injured, including two senior IPS officers. Protesters also got hurt when police used lathis and tear gas to break up the crowd.
Purulia’s Superintendent of Police, Abhijit Banerjee, told reporters that things have calmed down at Kotshila station. “Normalcy is back after we ended the agitation,” he said. Trains in the Adra division of South Eastern Railway are running smoothly again.
But the tribal Kurmi community paints a different picture. They accuse police of unleashing unnecessary terror to shut down their protest. Adivasi Kurmi Samaj leader Ajit Prasad Mahato explained the fallout: “Police have created widespread fear among our leaders, workers, and supporters. Many have gone into hiding. Officers stopped them during routine checks, blocking our planned road blockade.”
Mahato announced plans for an “anti-police terror” meeting on October 5 at Purulia city’s taxi stand, right after Durga Puja festivities. The group will also hand over a memorandum to the district magistrate and SP that day.
From the police side, SP Banerjee defended their response. “The situation is fully under control now,” he said. “There was no actual blockade, so no trains got delayed. The protesters hid behind women and children while throwing stones from the tracks. That’s why we held off on action at first, and several officers ended up hurt.”
Purulia district police stressed they followed orders from the Calcutta High Court. On Thursday, a division bench stuck to its 2023 ruling and told Indian Railways and the West Bengal government to stop the Kurmi community’s planned rail blockade on September 20 from disrupting daily life.
The push for ST status comes from last month’s call by Adivasi Kurmi Samaj, the biggest group representing the community. They want recognition in tribal areas across West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha to access better benefits and protections.
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