Over a thousand residents marched to the local police station and staged a demonstration in North Dinajpur’s Goalpokhar on Thursday, alleging that the inspector-in-charge has been acting at the behest of the Trinamool and has been misbehaving with locals.

The protesters demanded his immediate transfer and staged a road blockade on the state highway in front of the police station for around four and a half hours, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Senior police officers spoke with the agitators and received a memorandum from them before they dispersed.

Golam Sarowar, a BJP leader who had joined the protests, said that in April, Anwarul Haque, a resident of the Goabari-Chainpur village of Goalpokhar, died in a clash between two groups over a land dispute.

The deceased’s family members said instead of taking steps against those responsible, the police falsely implicated them in the case, he added.

“On the night of November 18, when I accompanied the bereaved family to the police station, police, acting under the instructions of N T Bhutia, the inspector-in-charge, resorted to lathi charge without any provocation and forced us to leave,” said Sarowar.

Around 1,000 people — supporters of different political parties — gathered in front of the Goalpokhar police station on Thursday afternoon with Anwarul’s family.

Irshad Alam, the youth Congress president of Goalpokhar block, was also present.

As the crowd marched towards the station while shouting slogans, a large police contingent stopped them — triggering another scuffle.

Around 11.30am, the protesters raised a roadblock. They burned tyres, demanding Bhutia’s transfer.

“The police have falsely implicated the victim’s family members in a case with 46 others. Among those named, one died five years ago. This proves that the IC is acting in a biased manner and harassing common people. This cannot go on,” said Sarowar.

Alam was also critical of the police officer. “People here are fed up with the IC’s harassment and bias.”

“We have clearly mentioned our demand in the memorandum. The IC should be transferred,” said Sarowar, after the agitators left the area.

Police officers did not comment on the issue. District TMC leaders, however, accused the BJP and Congress of fomenting tension.

“The collusion between Congress and the BJP, which we have always spoken about, has once again been proved. They are deliberately misleading and inciting common people to create unrest in the area,” said Kanaialal Agarwala, the TMC president of North Dinajpur.