Union home ministry on Thursday received a report from the West Bengal government on the violence in Nandigram, explaining the circumstances leading to the police firing.

Sources in the MHA said that in the report, the state government narrated the sequence of events leading to the police firing.

It said that when the police reached the village to restore law and order, thousands of angry residents resisted them violently and added that the police had to open fire in self defence.

Sources said that the Centre was in touch with the state and has assured it of all assistance needed to defuse the tension.

The Centre has asked the West Bengal government to speed up relief to the next of kin of the deceased and adequate care to the injured. The state government has also been asked to talk to all concerned so that peace and normalcy was restored in the area.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil was briefed by Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee over phone on the situation in Nandigram. The chief minister had earlier briefed the prime minister in this regard.

Violence erupted in Nandigram after the state government on Wednesday sent in police to restore order in villages where people had dug up and blocked roads to prevent the entry of the men in uniform after protests against the acquisition of land for industries.