Representatives of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had to face protests from residents at Santipara of Jalpaiguri town on Friday when they arrived to make preparations for opening an office at a building.

Police and administrative officials reached the locality and asked the RSS to lock the building and approach the authorities with necessary documents of the office.

Sources said a two-storied building owned by Narendra Berlia had been lying unused at Santipara for the past few years.

On Friday, 50-odd RSS workers started cleaning the building. When some local people inquired, they were told that an office of RSS would be opened there. This led to protests. Over 100 residents gathered and asked the RSS workers to stop their work.

While the locals claimed the RSS workers had broken the lock and entered the house without informing them, those on the other side said they had documents with them.

As the altercation continued and the crowd swelled, a police team led by Bipul Sinha, the inspector-in-charge of Kotwali police station and Samir Pal, a deputy superintendent of police, reached the spot.

Subhendu Das, a deputy magistrate, was also sent to the spot. They spoke with both sides and brought the situation under control.

“The house owner stays somewhere else. Before leaving, he had told us to look after the building. Suddenly, some people entered the house today by breaking the lock. That is why we have protested. The house owner had also assured us that if he disposed the property, he would help us renovate a local temple,” said Biswajit Majumdar, a local resident.

“If these people can satisfy the administration with necessary documents, we do not have any problem,” he added.

Ajay Singhania, a relative of Berlia, claimed Berlia had given him a power of attorney for the house and last year, the house owner had provided the house to a local trust for setting up the RSS office.

“I have the power of attorney with me and all other relevant documents. The RSS office was supposed to open earlier but it got delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Three days ago, we had even informed the district police that the office would be opened today,” Singhania said.

The deputy magistrate and the police officers, who collected details about the issue, later asked the RSS representatives to lock the house.

“They have been asked to meet administrative officials with relevant documents to prove that they have legal rights to use the house as an office. They can open the house only after they get necessary assent from the administration. Prohibitory orders have been clamped on the premises and anybody trying to get inside will have to face legal steps,” said Pal, the deputy superintendent of police.

Debasish Lala, one of the organisers of the RSS in Jalpaiguri, said: “We had taken the building months ago and today, we planned to clean it so that we could open our office. But some locals objected.”

“We informed the police and administration. We will speak with the administration in due course to resolve the issue.”