A section of tea workers attacked the house of a panchayat pradhan and a police station demanding the release of a garden owner here on Monday night.

Sources said Omprakash Upadhyaya, former owner of Kohinoor tea estate located in Alipurduar-II block, was arrested on Monday for violating a court order. “There was a dispute over the ownership of the garden. Recently, Calcutta High Court ordered that one Keshab Sinha will run the estate. Upadhyaya, however, was not ready to leave the garden, which is why he was arrested,” said a source.

Later, the workers torched two bikes and other belongings of Nilam Mandal, the pradhan of the BJP-run Kohinoor gram panchayat and demonstrated at Samuktala police station demanding Upadhyaya’s release. They threw stones and bricks at the police. The cops had to burst teargas shells to disperse the crowd.

Four persons have been arrested in this connection.

The workers said they want Upadhyaya to run the garden. There are 888 workers in the Kohinoor tea estate.

The police said the arrested quartet had been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

Manoj Oraon, the BJP MLA of Alipurduar, has accused Trinamul of orchestrating the attack at the pradhan’s house.

Trinamul leaders of the block, however, have denied the charge.