Rubber plant mager attacked in Khaspur tea estate

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR, Jan 25: The agitated family members of labourers of Khaspur tea estate, an out garden of Urbond tea estate, 30 km from Silchar, attacked the mager of its rubber plant, BB Tandon, on Saturday. Tandon was badly injured in the gruesome attack and sustained many injuries. Even, his vehicle was vandalized by the mob. An FIR, vide number 24/16, in this regard has been registered in Udharbond police station on Sunday under sections of 143, 447, 325, 307 and 326. Sources said that in a bid to develop the garden, the magement had decided to plant rubber and bamboo saplings in unutilized fallow lands of the out garden. In this regard, they were cleaning the trees and scrubs of the area but the families of a section of the labourers stopped them from cleansing the forest. After that a meeting was held between the bagan panchayat, rubber plant mager and Jayanta Bangapadhaya, mager of Urbond tea garden, on the one side and the labourers on the other side. It was decided that 10 to 15 acres of land would be left for the agitating labourers. But, when the works resumed under the supervisor Amit Dey on Saturday, the family members of the labourers again warned them to stop the cleansing exercise. Amit Dey said that they should contact BB Tandon in this regard. Meanwhile, BB Tandon arrived on the spot at Bunglowtilla. The agitating protestors asked him to stop the works, but the mager told them to go to the garden office to discuss the issue. At this point, the protesters attacked BB Tandon without any provocation on part of the magement.