Malda, July 15: Private bus owners and the unions representing the drivers and conductors today withdrew the indefinite strike that had begun on Monday to protest against an incident in which SFI members had allegedly beaten up two of their co-workers.

The district secretary of the CPM’s student body, Joy Chakrabarty, said the outfit had apologised for the incident. He added that the district administration had assured that buses would stop in front of colleges.

However, Debkishore Majumdar, a union leader, said they would not accept the demand to stop long-distance buses in front of colleges. “We withdrew the strike after the authorities had agreed to another round of talks on July 18.”