BJP activists clash with cops during rally to protest spurt in

Clashes broke out between BJP activists and police on Wednesday, when the saffron party took out a rally here to protest against the spurt in dengue cases.

The protest march, convened by the BJP Yuva Morcha, was taken out from Central Avenue in the city and was scheduled to culminate at Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters, with the gherao of the civic body.

Police, however, had put up a barricade near Chandni Chowk metro station to stop the rally.

According to police sources, the officers had initially tried to pacify the saffron party activists, asking them to go back.

The BJP supporters, in return, threw water bottles and stones at them, prompting police to use water cannon to dispel the crowd, the sources claimed.

Several BJP activists were detained during the clashes, the police sources added.

As many as 44,852 dengue cases have been reported from Kolkata and its adjoining areas, a report of the state health department has revealed.

As per a government official, 25 people have died of dengue in the state since January.