Alipurduar, Oct. 28: Villagers of Angrabhasha today protested against the winding up of a police camp, fearing relapse of criminal activity in the area.

The agitation has prompted the police to postpone the decision for the moment.

As five police personnel started loading their belongings into a vehicle, about 800 villagers, mostly women, demonstrated in front of the camp. The camp is located 90km from here, beside National Highway 31C in the Dhupguri police station area.

The women protesters forcefully lifted the belongings of the policemen from the vehicle and took those back inside the camp.

Ashutosh Goswami, a resident of the area, said: “The camp was set up here in 1996 in the wake of rampant highway robbery, snatching and other criminal activities, which made our lives miserable. After it came into being, all such activities were brought under control.”

The villagers had recently come to know that the police administration had decided to withdraw the camp. “We are worried over the decision. Once the camp is withdrawn from this area, criminal activities will surface again,” Goswami said.

The protesters said the camp should not be withdrawn from the area under any circumstances. They submitted a memorandum to the inspector in-charge of the Dhupguri police station, K.D. Ghosh.

According to Goswami, Ghosh had assured them that the camp would not be withdrawn and the number of personnel posted there would also be increased. “We are happy that our movement has been successful.”

Ghosh confirmed that the villagers prevented the police personnel from loading their belongings into the vehicle. “They came to me with the plea not to withdraw the police camp. I will send a report of the situation to higher authorities,” he said.