Talking to reporters, ADG (Law and Order) Jawed Shamim and IG South Bengal Supratim Sarkar said police had exercised maximum restraint for over seven hours on Thursday evening before taking action to assist government employees “trapped inside” Bikash Bhavan, the state education department headquarters.

“Nineteen policemen were injured, and one is serious. We have videos and evidence against those who instigated the agitation yesterday. We will take legal action against them,” Sarkar said at Bhawani Bhavan, the West Bengal Police Headquarters.

He clarified that police intervention was solely to ensure the safe exit for government employees from the building, not to suppress the protest.

“The whole police action was only done to ensure that the government employees trapped inside Bikash Bhavan could come out and return home after an entire day’s work. We have no intention to stop, alter or disrupt the protest,” Sarkar added.

ADG Shamim said, “Despite all the provocations — damaging government property, occupying premises — police exercised maximum restraint, respecting the emotions of the agitators,” he said.

“We spoke to the agitators’ leadership and repeatedly requested them to allow the trapped employees to leave. There was even a pregnant woman inside. The employees were calling police in distress.” As police attempted to assist those stuck inside, they were reportedly pelted with stones and plastic bottles, leading to a standoff.

“In that standoff, minimum force was used, and we ensured that those trapped inside were safely evacuated,” he said, adding that there were 58 other departments, other than the education department, housed inside Bikash Bhavan.

The area around Bikash Bhavan had turned into a virtual battlefield on Thursday evening after a series of violent clashes broke out between protesting school teachers and police.

Police resorted to lathi-charge to remove the agitators, who laid siege before the government building.

Many teachers were injured in police action, which persisted for over an hour and in repeated phases.

The teachers, who lost their jobs following a court order last month that cancelled thousands of appointments in government-aided schools due to irregularities in the recruitment process, had been staging a sit-in demonstration demanding reinstatement.

Last month, the Supreme Court had invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-aided schools and termed the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted”. PTI SCH MNB