North Dinajpur, 26 August (H.S.): Tension prevailed in the Daspara area of Chopra on Tuesday as more than 100 women staged a road blockade demanding the release of pending payments under the Annapurna scheme. The situation reportedly escalated after police detained a male demonstrator, with protesters allegedly surrounding the police van and taking him out.

The protesters blocked the state road in front of the Daspara Gram Panchayat office, alleging that payments under the Annapurna scheme had not been credited to their bank accounts for more than three months. They claimed that despite having all the necessary documents, they had been deprived of the benefits of the scheme.

According to the protesters, they had repeatedly approached the panchayat and concerned departments seeking clarification about the pending payments but had not received a satisfactory response. They subsequently launched the road blockade and demonstration outside the panchayat office.

Police from the Daspara outpost under Chopra police station reached the spot and tried to persuade the protesters to lift the blockade. During the intervention, police allegedly detained a male protester from the crowd and attempted to put him into a police van.

The move reportedly angered the protesters further. According to allegations, they surrounded the police van after seeing the man being taken away. Despite resistance from the police, people at the spot allegedly pulled the detained man out of the vehicle.

The incident led to heightened tension in the area for some time. The protesting women have demanded that the pending Annapurna scheme payments be credited to their accounts at the earliest.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey