Peak-hour evening traffic across parts of south Calcutta was stalled for close to 45 minutes on Saturday as BJP supporters clashed with police in front of Jadavpur police station.
Traffic slowed down around Gariahat, along Southern Avenue, Rashbehari Connector, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Anwar Shah Road connector and parts of Jadavpur.
The BJP supporters alleged the police pulled down one of their tableaus while trying to stop the procession. Officers said a policeman suffered a deep cut on his forehead as a result of the clash while several others were injured.
Around 150 BJP supporters had gathered to protest the alleged irregularities in school recruitments. Their procession began from Selimpur around 5.30pm and headed for Sulekha More via 8B bus stand. After reaching Jadavpur police station, the members set up a road blockade by forming a circle, holding hands prompting police to intervene. A clash followed that left a few BJP supporters and several policemen injured. The blockade was finally removed around 6.15 pm.
“Traffic movement on all the sides — east, west, north and south — was hit because the Jadavpur crossing, in front of the police station, was blocked,” said a senior police officer.
“Southern Avenue lacks the road space to take such a heavy load if all Jadavpur-bound vehicles are diverted from Golpark. As a result vehicles inevitably slowed down resulting in long tail-up of vehicles,” said a senior police officer.
A series of diversions had to be put in place to ensure that vehicles could move and not get stuck at a point.