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Chaos erupted in Kolkata on Tuesday as the 'Nabanna Abhijan' protest march turned ugly, with protesters throwing stones at the police and breaking barricades at Howrah Bridge. The police used water cannons, tear gas and lathicharged the protesters to disperse them from marching towards the state secretariat demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case.
Protesters were seen climbing the barricades that were placed at the Howrah Bridge, and waving the Tricolour, as they attempted to break the three-layered security by the Kolkata Police.
Visuals flooding social media showed police using tear gas, water cannons and resorting to lathicharge to disperse crowds as chaotic scenes erupted at Kolkata's Howrah Bridge where the police had placed barricades to stop the protest march to the Nabanna (state secretariat).
Four people were arrested ahead of the march for planning to "orchestrate large-scale violence" during the Nabanna Abhijan, Kolkata Police said in a post on X. The police said they were involved in a "conspiracy of murder and attempted murder". Earlier, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari said the 4 student activists went missing after midnight.
Iron and aluminium barricades have been placed at over 20 points near the state secretariat. Cops have also applied oil on the barricades to make it slippery for the protesters to climb the structures and cross over.
More than 6,000 policemen have been deployed on routes leading to the West Bengal secretariat in Howrah. Additional forces from different districts have been brought, including Heavy Radio Flying Squads (HRFS), Rapid Action Force (RAF), and Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs).
Drones and robocops are being used to monitor the movements of the protesters. Anti-riot VAJRA vehicles are also present at the protest site.
The West Bengal Police has said the protest march was "illegal" and they did not receive any request for permission to hold a march towards Nabanna.
The protest march has been called Paschimbanga Chhatra Samaj, an unregistered student group. The rally has been organised by Prabir Das, a Master's student of Rabindra Bharati University, Subhankar Halder of Kalyani University and Sayan Lahiri of Rabindra Mukta University. It has demanded justice for the 31-year-old trainee doctor, capital punishment for the culprit, and Mamata Banerjee's resignation.
Doctors who have been protesting against the incident since August 9 and the Left student bodies have distanced themselves from the 'Nabanna Abhijan' protest march.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has claimed the BJP was behind the protest march and its leaders were planning to incite the police personnel to open fire on the protesters on Tuesday. The BJP has, however, strongly refuted the allegations, stating they were not associated with the rally but would support the movement.
On August 9, the semi-naked body of a 31-year-old, second-year postgraduate student, was found inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Sanjoy Roy, a civil volunteer associated with Kolkata Police, was arrested the next day.
