Kolkata, July 19: A large number of locals in West Bengal heldĀ protest inĀ Uttar Dinajpur over an alleged gang-rape & murder of a girl in Kalagachh. According to a tweet by ANI, the localsĀ blocked road and set police vehicles & public buses on fire during the protest. Reports inform that heavy security has been deployed at the protest site. The protestersĀ blocked the road on the National Highway that connects Kolkata to North Bengal.Ā The violence lasted for several hours.

At first, Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the violent protesters.Ā A video by ANI showed that clash broke out between security personnel and locals, during the protest. The security forces used tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. Reports inform that so far,Ā no one has beenĀ arrested for the attack onĀ policemen.Ā TMC, BJP Workers Clash in North 24 Parganas Amid Rising Politician Tensions in West Bengal.

Here's the tweet:

According to a report by NDTV,Ā the sister of the girl who was killed, stated that the deceased hadĀ just passed her Class 10 board exam. The victim's family searched for her after she went missing last night and spotted her body under a tree. The report informs that massive protests broke out in West Bengal soon after the girl's body was found on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government had extended the total lockdown in containment zones till July 19 to stem the spike in COVID-19 cases.Ā  According to a notification issued by the Home Department, the rigorous containment in these areas would be extended from July 15 to July 19.

In West Bengal, the total COVID-19 countĀ Ā breached the 40,000-mark withĀ  over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases on a single-day for the first time on Saturday. The state detected 2,198 new cases, following which its active cases soared to 15,594, the state healthĀ bulletin said.Ā The state has so far reported 40,209 cases of COVID-19, while the death toll mounted toĀ 1,076.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2020 07:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).