Coronavirus Outbreak: Locals clash with medics, cops in West Bengal's Asansol over setting up quarantine centre; 5 poliemen injured

Asansol: Five police personnel were injured in the Charulia area of Asansol on Tuesday in clashes with locals over setting up of a quarantine centre, officials said. The civic body decided to convert a local health centre into a quarantine facility, they said. On Tuesday afternoon, when health and civic body officials visited the area for inspection, locals gathered and started heckling them, according to police sources. [caption id=“attachment_4412677” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] The locals started pushing and abusing them, following which the police were called in, a senior officer of the Asansol police commissionerate said. Seeing the police, the locals started hurling stones at their vehicles, he said. “We then had to baton-charge and fire tear gas shells to control the situation,” he added. Five police personnel, including the officer-in-charge of Charulia police station, were injured, he said. “We also have reports about a few locals getting injured,” the officer said. An investigation has been started and a hunt is on to nab those behind the incident, police said. The decision to set up the quarantine centre in the area was taken after a few positive cases of COVID-19 were reported from Asansol, in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district, over the last few days, officials said.