Tension sparked at Tinbatti More on the southern part of Siliguri on Monday afternoon as supporters and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organised a march towards Uttarkanya to protest the atrocities in Sandeshkhali and crimes reported against women across Bengal.

At 3pm, around 200-odd supporters of the ABVP assembled at Station Feeder Road. From there, they started marching on Burdwan Road towards Uttarkanya.

A large contingent of Siliguri Metropolitan Police was deployed at Tinbatti More to halt the march. Temporary barricades of bamboo and iron rails with a water cannon were placed on the road.

By 3.30pm, the ABVP supporters reached the spot and tried to breach the barricade. The police reacted and chased the supporters with batons.

Some ABVP supporters were arrested and put into police vehicles.

“We were organising a peaceful rally when police charged at us with batons,” said an ABVP supporter.

Senior police officials said that as the protesters tried to remove the barricades, they were dispersed.

Altogether, 22 persons have been detained so far, the police said.