Kolkata on edge after police intercept 62 children travelling without valid documents

Kolkata has been on edge on Monday as tension rose in parts of the city following an agitation at Rajabazar crossing. The agitators have been demanding the release of 62 children, who were intercepted by Sealdah station GRP after they failed to produce any valid documents.

On Sunday, Sealdah railway station GRP intercepted as many as 62 children and a cleric. The children were travelling from a madrasa in Purnia, Bihar to another madrasa in Satara, Maharashtra. Since they were travelling without documents, the GRP officials shifted them to the state-run Child Welfare Commission's home in Barasat. Kolkata Police have been trying to contact the children's parents to know more about the case. 

On the other hand, protestors staged a demonstration at Rajabazar, Park Circus seven-point crossing, Moulali and Sealdah. The situation turned grim by the end of the day as more and more agitators assembled demanding immediate release of the children.

Agitators pelted stones at Sealdah station resulting in closure of the main gate for several hours. The railway tracks were also blocked by the protestors, because of which all south-bound trains from Sealdah station were held up. Several vehicles were vandalised across the city. Shops adjoining the Sealdah-Moulali area too were forced to close doors.

Meanwhile, top officials of Kolkata Police have said that the children would be released and sent back to Bihar by Monday night itself, to avoid any untoward incident. "We are sending the children back to Bihar tonight itself. There are reports of certain sporadic incidents. We are in full control of the situation," Rajeev Mishra, Special Additional and Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police (Headquarters) told dna.

Major thoroughfares remained clogged with thousands of demonstrators putting up road blocks, bringing the city to a grinding halt. Commuters faced trouble as major arterial roads of North and Central Kolkata remained blocked since Monday afternoon.