Kolkata, Oct 20 (IANS): Tension is mounting in front of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) office in Salt Lake since Thursday evening, as a huge police contingent has gathered there to remove the protesters agitating against the primary teachers' recruitment scam in the state.

The police contingent was armed by an order of the Calcutta High Court's single judge bench of justice Lapita Bandopadhyay, which although did not direct police action to remove the protesters, but called for maintenance of Section 155 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Armed by that order, a huge police contingent started making announcements asking the protesters to vacate the space. However, the protesters refused to vacate the area and claimed that they were only resorting to peaceful assembly without carrying any deadly weapon, nor were they blocking the entry gate of the WBBPE office.

"We are in a fast-unto-death agitation. We are not even carrying water or food. So, we are ready to face any police action and even bullets, rather than back-tracking from our agitation. We had already qualified for primary teacher's jobs, but were illegally denied appointment because of rampant corruption in the recruitment process. Now the board is asking us to appear for a fresh examination. We will not move unless we get our appointment letters," one of the protesters said.

The counsels for the agitators have contacted the office of Calcutta HC Chief Justice Prakash Srivastav so that the order of the single-judge bench can be challenged on Thursday night itself.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the commotion, many protesters fell sick and some of them had to be shifted to the hospital for treatment.

"The government can let us die without food and water. The police can open fire on us. But we will not withdraw our movement till the time we get our appointment letters," another protester said.

No reaction in the matter came from the WBBPE or from the Chief Minister's Office till the time of filing of this report.