Parts of Kolkata and adjoining Howrah resembled a battle zone on Thursday as BJP workers and supporters clashed with police, hurling stones and blocking roads with burning tyres, to protest a string of killings of saffron party workers. Clashes erupted at several places during the march called by Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, to Nabanna, the state secretariat, when they tore down barricades, officials said.

Police personnel in riot gear burst teargas shells, beat up agitators and used water cannons to break up the protests which are still raging in the two cities. Several BJP activists, including some senior leaders, were injured. It was still not known whether police personnel were also injured.