Dinhata, Feb. 5: Eyes burning from the tear gas hanging heavy in the air, Abed Ali sat crouched in a corner of the subdivisional office grounds, when he suddenly heard the words “fire, fire”.

Then he heard sounds of “crackers exploding”. One after the other, the “crackers” kept exploding and Ali kept wondering what was happening.

What Ali, a Forward Bloc supporter from the nearby Baronachina, thought were “crackers exploding” was in fact the sound of police rifles and revolvers going off.

“It was only when I stood up to see what was happening did I realise that the police had opened fire,” Ali said.

“I saw policemen with their guns raised and revolvers pointed at the crowd and then heard the sound of what I thought were crackers exploding. The police were firing on our procession.”

As people ran in panic, the firing continued. Then Ali saw the first victim fall.

“People were running everywhere and the police continued to fire. Suddenly I saw someone being hit on the head. Even from a distance, I could see blood and brain spilling out of the head as he slumped to the ground.”

Stunned, Ali saw one more of his comrades fall to the police’s bullets.

“It happened within a few minutes,” Ali said. “Here was this man who I saw was running for safety and the next moment he was on the ground. He shook a little, and then he stopped. I knew he was dead.”

Ali was one of the few to have made it past the third police barrier and into the office compound. That ensured his safety.

Keshav Rai, an employee of the adjoining court, said thousands tried to force their way through the barricades. “Suddenly everything seemed to go out of control.

“The crowd went berserk. They set on fire the prison vans kept to take away Bloc supporters who had come to court arrest. Then the firing began.”