Fresh unrest erupted in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Saturday as protesters once again blocked National Highway-12 and railway tracks at Beldanga, a day after violent agitations over the death of a migrant worker had disrupted road and rail connectivity between the state’s northern and southern regions for several hours, police said.

Hundreds of local residents assembled at Barua More in Beldanga, bringing vehicular movement on NH-12 to a complete halt and causing long queues of stranded vehicles. Protesters also damaged a railway gate and attempted to disrupt train services, officials added.

The renewed agitation was triggered by allegations that another migrant worker from the area, Anisur Sheikh, was brutally assaulted in Bihar, reigniting public anger that had barely subsided following Friday’s violence.

A large police contingent was deployed at the protest site, while local MLA Humayun Kabir reached the area and held discussions with demonstrators and officials in an effort to defuse the situation.

Officials said steps were being taken to restore normalcy and prevent the protest from escalating into fresh violence.

Tension has been prevailing in Beldanga since Friday following the death of 36-year-old Alauddin Sheikh, a resident of the Sujapur Kumarpur gram panchayat area. His body was recovered from his rented accommodation in Jharkhand, where he was working as a scrap dealer.

Family members alleged that he was beaten to death and later hung to make it appear as a suicide, sparking widespread outrage after his body was brought back to the village.

Saturday’s unrest coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to attend government programmes and address a public rally.