A clash between protesters and supporters of the new citizenship matrix was averted at the Aam Bagan ground here on Thursday due to the timely intervention of police.

Late on Thursday, Section 144 of the CrPC was clamped on all of the steel city.

Protesters under the banner of Samvidhan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (SBSS) had erected bamboo structures for their Maha Dharna on the ground on Wednesday night, despite not getting permission from the district administration for the event, attracting the attention of supporters of the new citizenship law.

On Thursday morning, when around 250 Samiti activists, including 50 women, had already started gathering at Aam Bagan, 200 CAA supporters, mostly from rightwing groups VHP and Bajrang Dal, reached the ground where a contingent of police had also been posted.

As the activists started going ahead with the Maha Dharna, the rightwing groups asked Dhalbhum sub-divisional officer (SDO) Chandan Kumar to order that the ground be vacated, and impose Section 144 of the CrPC.

Even as talks were on, some SBSS activists started shouting slogans against the CAA-NRC. One of the protesters went to the spot where the CAA-NRC supporters had gathered and used a derogatory word, asking them to leave the ground. Within seconds, some CAA supporters thrashed him.

A police team rescued the youth and removed him from the spot. The SDO called for more police reinforcements and forced everyone to leave.

City superintendent of police (SP) Subhash Chandra Jat said the anti-CAA dharna was being held illegally as the administration had not granted permission: “Tempers had started running high.... We quickly prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn.”

The city SP told The Telegraph that they were looking into the whole affair and contemplating to register cases under Section 107 of the CrPC against both the SBSS activists as well as the CAA supporters for creating the chaos.

Sakchi police station officer in-charge (OC) Kunal Kumar said both groups had lodged complaints against each other with the police.

“We are going through the complaints and will register cases accordingly but only after carrying out an initial probe into the nature of the complaints,” said the OC.

The SBSS activists wanted to hold a 72-hour Maha Dharna at Aam Bagan ground against the citizenship matrix.

The administration had already allotted the ground to the district transport office for two days from Thursday for holding vehicle fitness tests.