20 injured in clashes over setting up of quarantine centre in

More than 20 people, including five police personnel, were injured in the Charulia area of West Bengal's Asansol on Tuesday in clashes over setting up a quarantine centre, officials said.

The civic body has decided to convert a government boys' hostel 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.

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, adding that "we then had to baton-charge and fire tear gas shells to control the situation".

Five police personnel, including the officer-in-charge of Jamuria police station, were injured. Few officials of the civic body were also injured, the officer said.

"We also have reports about a few locals suffering injures," the officer said.

An investigation has been started and a hunt is on to nab those behind the incident, police said.

Parts of Asansol, in West Bengal's Paschim Bardhaman district, have been on the boil for the last two days over setting up of quarantine centres.

On Monday night, clashes broke out in the Salanpur area over setting up of a quarantine centre. The authorities wanted to turn a government bungalow into an isolation facility.

The locals stopped the authorities and chased away the police personnel with bows and arrows, following which the idea of an isolation centre there was dropped.

Asansol Mayor Jitendra Tiwari said the people are terrified as they feel that a setting up of quarantine centres would lead to more infections in the area.

"The people here are thinking that setting up of quarantine centres would put them at risk. So they are protesting against it. We are trying to create awareness among the masses," he said.

The decision to set up the quarantine centres was taken after a few positive cases of COVID-19 were reported from Asansol over the past few days, officials said.