Jaigaon, Oct. 10: The people of Looksan in Jalpaiguri have lodged an FIR with police, charging the jawans of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)’s 23rd Battalion with continuous harassment over the past 15 days.

The complaint was filed with Nagrakata police station, 8km from here. The SSB has denied the allegation.

The jawans have been posted in the village under Malbazar sub-division to check illegal movement of vehicles and persons in the proximity of the border. But according to the villagers, they are carrying out the work by bullying and humiliating residents.

On Wednesday evening, the SSB personnel allegedly assaulted two villagers for not carrying proper papers for their two-wheelers. About 100 villagers went to the police station and complained that the jawans were harassing the vehicle owners.

The pradhan of Looksan gram panchayat, Dilkumar Oraon, said the jawnas were forcibly closing down shops as well in the name of cracking down on illegal liquor joints.

Some days ago, J.B. Subba, a retired armyman and a resident of the Looksan market area, was returning home when he saw the jawans punishing six youths who were riding on two motorcycles. “A jawan asked me what I was doing. He asked me to leave and hit me with a cane on my foot. Another jawan hit my head,” he said.

A meeting was held today with the commander of SSB’s Looksan company, R.C. Tiwari. It was attended by the pradhan, the CPM district committee member Ramlal Murmu and the local business committee secretary Ajit Debnath, among others.

The commander was told about the problems and he said only shops selling liquor without licence were being closed by the SSB. He also denied the allegations levelled by the villagers that they were being beaten up by the jawans. He, however, told the village leaders that if any problem occurred, they could always approach him.