The West Bengal police resorted to lathi-charge and used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protestors who tried to march towards the State secretariat as a part of the “March to Nabanna” protest rally on Tuesday demanding justice for the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case and resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Clashes broke out between the police and protesters at different parts of Kolkata and its neighbouring Howrah district as the agitators tried to make their way through barricades to march towards “Nabanna”, the State secretariat. Police lathi-charged and used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protestors. In some places, agitators threw stones and bricks at the security forces as they tried to continue their march to the secretariat amid heavy security deployment. During clashes, some protesters and policemen were injured.
The Opposition BJP in West Bengal called for a 12-hour general strike in the State on Wednesday to protest against the “police action” on those who took part in the protest march, called by Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj.
Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj, a little-known student organisation, demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, over the brutal rape and murder of a woman doctor at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Police arrested four activists of the Chhatra Samaj ahead of the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ march, alleging that they were trying to “orchestrate large-scale violence”.
The Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, alleged that the police resorted to “brutal repression on peaceful participants” of the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ rally. Adhikari also threatened to stall Bengal if the “brutalities” by the State administration were not stopped.
“Police were using water cannons on peaceful protestors at Santragachi, burst tear gas shells on the students at Howrah Bridge, lathi-charged them at College Street. Please stop these brutalities immediately,” the BJP leader told media.
“An alarming situation has been created by this administration. Scores of protestors have been injured. If the police don’t stop such brutalities, we will not sit idle,” Adhikari said, adding that BJP leaders were not joining the Chhatra Samaj movement as the student organisation had asked them not to come to the forefront. “But we are with them,” he added.
The ruling Trinamool Congress claimed that the strike call exposed the BJP’s game plan to foment disturbances in the State exploiting people’s pain over the rape and murder of the woman doctor.
“We have been stating from the very beginning that the Chhatra Samaj-sponsored Nabanna Abhijan had the backing of the BJP. This was apparent in the way miscreants masquerading as student protestors created large-scale disturbances in the name of peaceful protests today. This was clear by the way the BJP lost no time to give a call for a bandh to foment disturbances,” said Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh.
Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Alapan Bandopadhyay, said the government will not allow any bandh on Wednesday. “We urge the people not to participate in it. The state government will take all steps to keep normal life going. Keep shops, marketplaces, and shopping malls open,” Bandopadhyay added.