Trinamool leader accused of assaulting ECL official arrested

Kolkata, July 24 (IANS) A Trinamool Congress labour leader was Thursday arrested for allegedly threatening and assaulting officials of the Eastern Coalfields Limited, police said.

Two days ago, the Coal India subsidiary had said it would stop operations in a mine at Raniganj in West Bengal if the government failed to take action against the accused.

Chunulal Mishra was detained Thursday morning by police, and arrested after a round of interrogation, a police officer said.

Harnam Singh, Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress president in the ECL, said Mishra has been suspended from the union after it found substance in the allegations against him.

The ECL, which had threatened to stop operations at the J.K. Nagar colliery in Burdwan district and put up a notice telling workers they would be shifted to adjacent mines, has now said there would be no closure of the mine.

"We have come to know the culprit has been arrested. So there is no reason to close down the mine," said an ECL official.

The ECL earlier complained that the trouble started July 18 after Mishra was not allowed to sign the attendance register along with 10 other workers as they had reported more than 30 minutes after the start of the morning shift.

But Mishra raised a hue and cry, and then along with his accomplices beat up pit manager Birendra Kumar Singh.

Over the next three days, he gave death threats to officials over phone and SMS.

The ECL then gave a four-day deadline to the government to arrest him.