Kolkata:
A 12-hour Bengal bandh called by the BJP to protest the hike in power tariff turned violent on Monday with supporters setting afire buses and clashing with the police, who used batons to quell them.
Train and road services were hit by the bandh. Traffic movement was disrupted as a private bus was torched on the busy VIP Road connecting the Kolkata airport, said the police, adding bandh supporters put up a blockade on that road.
Three other private vehicles were also damaged in the area following which police baton-charged the protesters, they said.
In neighbouring North 24 Parganas, roads have been blocked at Kharda area, while the Gangasagar Express was also held up at Agarpara station.
In Howrah district, 12 city-bound buses were set ablaze allegedly by bandh supporters, the police said.
Train services were also disrupted at Howrah and Sealdah station as protesters squatted on tracks and threw banana plantation on the overhead section in the districts.
All educational institutions and business establishments remained open in the city.