Strike in India's eastern state after six activists killed

Daily life was disrupted in India's eastern state of West Bengal on Wednesday due to a strike called by a constituent of the ruling communist government in protest against the killing of its six activists by police. Senior police official Raj Kanojia told reporters that the death toll in the shooting in the northern Coochbehar district rose to six after three more supporters of the Forward Bloc succumbed to injuries overnight. The party had Tuesday organized a rally against the Communist Party of India-led Left Front government to demand employment programmes and measures against corruption. Many shops and business establishments were closed in Kolkata, the state's main city and a major Indian metropolis. Flag-waiving Forward Bloc activists gathered at main intersections in cities in the state and shouted slogans and obstructed road traffic. Few vehicles, including buses were seen plying on the roads in Kolkata. Train services bore the brunt of the shutdown as two main routes were affected by blockades on railway tracks organized by the FB activists, railway officials said. Service was cancelled on at least 16 trains, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at the Howrah and Sealdah stations. Police said more than 170 party supporters were arrested from Kolkata and different districts in the state for trying to erect road barricades and disrupting road and rail traffic. But West Bengal's Home Secretary P R Roy said there were no reports of violence or clashes in the state. The day-long shutdown was complete in the Coochbehar district where additional police forces were deployed to prevent any violence. The Forward Bloc claimed that the strike was successful in Siliguri commercial city, with most schools and colleges and shops and markets remaining closed. It was for the first time that a strike was called by a constituent against its the Left Front government in West Bengal. The state has been ruled by the Left Front for the past three decades, making it the world's longest-running democratically elected communist government.

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