Left activists, cops clash near West Bengal secretariat

Clashes broke out here on Friday between the police and the Left Front activists, who were marching towards the state secretariat, demanding employment for the youth.

Several people on the two sides suffered injuries in the skirmish, a police officer said.

The injured have been admitted to a nearby government hospital for treatment, he said.

According to sources, police lobbed tear gas shells and used water cannons to disperse CPI(M) youth and students' wing activists, who pelted stones at them.

Members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) on Thursday took out a rally from Singur, the venue of the abandoned Tata Nano car plant, demanding jobs for the youth of the state.

The rally was scheduled to culminate at the state secretariat on Friday afternoon, but was stopped near Mullick Ghat in Howrah, 5 km away.

Sources said the activists, in their attempt to move forward, broke one of the three barricades set up by the