Kolkata:
Chaotic scenes are being witnessed on the streets of Kolkata as police intercepted a protest march to state secretariat Nabanna over the rape and homicide of a 31-year-old physician within the metropolis’s RG Kar Medical Faculty and Hospital on August 9. Riot police are utilizing teargas shells and water cannons to cease the protesters from proceedings in direction of the state secretariat. A few of the protesters are throwing stones in direction of the cops.
No permission was given for the protest march and the ruling Trinamool Congress yesterday alleged a conspiracy to create unrest throw violence throughout the rally. Kolkata Police just about turned Nabanna right into a fortress and as many as 6,000 police personnel have been deployed to cease the protesters from advancing the secretariat from any route. Drones have been additionally used to maintain a watch on the protesters. Barricades have been welded into the bottom and greased to stop the protesters from scaling them.
This morning, a gaggle of protesters gathered at Faculty Sq. and marched in direction of Nabanna. They raised slogans demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation over the horrific rape and homicide case. A number of scholar organisations and citizen boards have joined the protest. Visuals confirmed the protesters shaking the barricades of their method.
Whereas the ruling Trinamool alleges it is a BJP-backed protest, the organisers have mentioned it’s a march deliberate by scholar organisations. Lots of the outfits a part of in the present day’s protest will not be registered organisations. Most identified scholar outfits have distanced themselves from the protest.
This morning, Chief of the Opposition in Bengal Meeting, Suvendu Adhikari, mentioned 4 scholar activists a part of the protest plan went lacking after midnight.
“The next Scholar Activists who have been distributing meals to the volunteers, who have been arriving at Howrah Station, abruptly went lacking after midnight :- Subhojit Ghosh, Pulokesh Pandit, Goutam Senapati, Pritam Sarkar. Neither they are often traced nor are they answering their telephones.
We apprehend that they could have been arrested/detained by the Mamata Police. If one thing occurs to them Mamata Police might be held accountable,” Mr Adhikari mentioned in a publish on X.
Bengal police responded that the scholars have been planning to orchestrate large-scale violence throughout in the present day’s march “and have been concerned in a conspiracy of homicide and tried homicide”. “They’ve been arrested within the Curiosity of public security and safety, and their households have been knowledgeable,” they mentioned. Mr Adhikari then mentioned that the households of the 4 college students have approached the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom.
One in every of organisers, Shubankar Halder, has mentioned he was once an ABVP member at one level, however is just not linked to the organisation anymore. He mentioned this protest is an apolitical protest.
The Trinamool has mentioned this march is an try to create chaos within the title of scholars’ protest. State minister Chandrima Bhattacharya advised the media yesterday, “This can be a BJP-ABVP plot to create disturbance. This can be a plot to open hearth by criminals in police uniform. Tomorrow there are exams. Can college students do that? They’re doing vulture politics.”
The Trinamool launched two movies to emphasize that there’s a plot to create unrest. Within the movies, the authenticity of which EDNBOX has not verified, a number of males are heard saying, “we’d like our bodies”. Trinamool chief Jayprakash Majumdar alleged, “The BJP management has been advised that except a Nandigram-type incident occurs and there are useless our bodies, the tide won’t flip in BJP’s favour.”