12 state officials held over protesting near Secretariat

At least 12 state government officials were detained Thursday when they tried to stage a protest near the state secretariat 'Nabanna' demanding Dearness Allowance (DA), police said. "They had gathered in an area which is a high-security zone and such assembling is not allowed here.

We have detained them," an officer of Howrah Police said. The protesters had raised slogans before they were taken off in police vans to Sibpur police station. The Calcutta High Court has ordered that DA is a legally enforceable right of workers.

The order has set aside an earlier order by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) that the DA was payable at the government's discretion because it was a "donation". The SAT had said DA was discretionary, sending workers organisations to challenge it in the High Court.