Eleven tribals arrested for protesting land port project in West Bengal
The arrested residents of Torsa Tea Garden were protesting for rehabilitation and compensation regarding a proposed project at the India-Bhutan border.
Police arrested 11 tribal residents of Torsa Tea Garden in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, for protesting the construction of a land port at the India-Bhutan border, according to The Hindu.
The group of arrested individuals includes seven men and four women. They have been conducting an indefinite dharna beside the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) site in Gotabari for over 100 days to demand compensation and rehabilitation.
The FIR, registered on November 3 at Jaigaon Police Station, follows a written complaint dated November 2 by LPAI Junior Engineer Rakesh Kumar Meena. The FIR names social activists Anuradha Talwar, Binoy Kerkatta, and Mahesh Xalxo for allegedly provoking and instigating the crowd, though the union stated none of the three were present at the site.
The Paschim Banga Cha Majoor Samity (PBCMS), a non-political union of tea garden workers, said the confrontation occurred when bulldozers arrived on November 2 to work on disputed land. The union stated there was no violence, assault, or damage to government property and that disagreement should not be criminalised.
Family members of those arrested claimed they did not know the whereabouts of the individuals for 18 hours and that they were moved between four to five police stations before their arrests were registered.
PBCMS has called for the immediate release of the 11 arrested persons and the withdrawal of charges. The union is also demanding a halt to evictions until land rights and rehabilitation claims are resolved.