Kolkata, Feb 5 (PTI) Several para teachers were taken into preventive custody in the city on Friday as they set out on their march to the state secretariat, seeking salary revision and retirement benefits, a police officer said.

The agitators assembled at Subodh Mallick Square, and then moved to S N Banerjee Road, where they went past barricades and was stopped by police personnel, he said.

"As the teachers approached Rani Rashmoni Avenue, without paying heed to the warnings, some of them were taken into custody. They were whisked away to Kolkata Police headquarters and released later in the day," the officer said.

Para teachers, demanding pay parity with regular teachers and other benefits, had been staging a sit-in outside state education department headquarters 'Bikash Bhavan' since December last year.

A member of 'Parateachers Oikyo Manch' (unity platform) -- which organised the march -- said the agitation would continue till the demands are met.

"We had staged a month-long hunger strike in December 2019. Back then, the government assured us that our grievances would be redressed. However, no such thing happened..." Bhagirathi Ghosh, the convenor of the platform, added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)