Kolkata: Large-scale violence on the streets of Kolkata and adjacent Howrah marred the cries for justice for the RG Kr hospital victim on Tuesday afternoon after protestors, aiming to reach the West Bengal state secretariat, Nabanna, fought pitched battles with the police at multiple stoppage points.
The violence, which lasted for nearly four hours, led to several injuries on both sides with senior police officers and women protestors among those who were hurt.
More than 200 people were arrested from across the state, police said.
Protestors took to incessant pelting of stones and glass bottles on the police at several spots where their progress was stopped. Fifteen personnel of the Kolkata Police and 14 from the state police force were injured in the clashes, police said.
Police resorted to large-scale lathi-charge, unleashed water cannons and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the aggressive crowd who poured in from multiple converging points at Nabanna.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari alleged that over 160 protestors, including 17 women, suffered injuries in the police action.
Condemning the police action on protestors, president of BJP’s Bengal unit Sukanta Majumdar called a 12-hour Bangla bandh on Wednesday.
State’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari urged Governor CV Ananda Bose to “impose President’s Rule” in the state. The ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ call was given by an unregistered student body 'Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj' and a dissident state government employees' platform 'Sangrami Joutha Mancha' who demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the alleged rape-murder of a medic at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
The West Bengal government urged people not to respond to BJP’s 6 am–6 pm general strike.
“The government will not allow any bandh on Wednesday. We urge people not to participate in it. All steps shall be taken to ensure that normal life is unaffected,” said Alapan Bandopadhyay, the chief advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Shortly afterwards, the state issued a notification stating that all government offices would remain open and all employees, except those facing exigencies or are on leave, would have to report for duty on August 28 or face show-cause for their unauthorised absence.
The top brass of Bengal police cited multiple judgments of various high courts which termed bandhs called by political parties “illegal”.
Stating that “there would be no bandh in Bengal tomorrow”, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh claimed the call for the general strike was given because the chaos on the streets unmasked the BJP and exposed its conspiracy to create political conspiracy in the state.
ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar confirmed that 25 people were arrested from across the state on Monday night prior to the secretariat rally as a preventive measure.
“We have credible proof that these miscreants were planning to use firearms and bombs in the rally. The situation could have turned much worse if these preventive arrests were not made,” Sarkar said. According to Kolkata Police sources, 126 members and supporters of Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj were arrested on Tuesday. Thirty-three out of them were women.
Both police and the government brass maintained that the security forces “exercised extreme restraint and did not fall prey to the provocations from the agitators”.
“The police limited themselves in taking only those actions that were necessary in the wake of the aggressions displayed by the protestors,” ADG (Law and Order) Manoj Verma told reporters at Nabanna.
“Why are we being beaten up by the police? We did not break any law. We are holding a peaceful rally to demand justice for the deceased doctor. The chief minister should take responsibility and resign,” said a woman protester. Later in the day, police again used teargas and resorted to lathi-charge to disperse BJP leaders and supporters when they marched towards Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar demanding the release of students arrested during the Nabanna Abhijan rally.
The police action began after BJP supporters attempted to breach police barricades to enter Lalbazar.
Several party leaders, including state president Sukanta Majumdar, fell ill during the commotion and scuffle and were removed from the spot by the police. The state BJP made a helpline number available for those requiring medical and legal assistance in the aftermath of Tuesday’s police action on protestors.
Pitched battles between the police and protestors were fought at Hastings, Mahatma Gandhi Road and the Strand Road entry point to the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata as well as on Foreshore Road, Howrah Maidan, Kona Expressway and at the Santragachhi station complex in Howrah.
Multiple police vehicles were vandalised and a police two wheeler was torched by the agitators near the Babughat river front.
A section of protestors even managed to reach within stone’s throw distance of Nabanna breaching police barricades en route and stood face to face with armed police chanting slogans for justice. Police allegedly used force to disperse the gathering. “The police foiled their plot to get a body. That is why the BJP called a strike tomorrow to cripple Bengal’s booming economy ahead of the Durga Puja festival,” senior minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said.
-PTI