Kolkata: Chaos and violent agitation dominated the streets of Kolkata and adjacent Howrah on Saturday, a day that marked completion of one year of the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar hospital, and left the mother of the victim hospitalised with a head injury.
The police-protesters face off took place in phases and at multiple points during the ‘Nabanna Chalo Abhiyan’, a march to the state secretariat demanding “justice” for the RG Kar victim, which had at least three converging processions of agitators in both Kolkata and Howrah amid elaborate police arrangements that included setting up of iron barricades as high as 10 feet to stop protestors’ progress.
The march to Nabanna was called by the parents of the deceased doctor, who urged citizens to join them in their quest for “unachieved justice”.
While people from various walks of life responded to the call and joined the march by the thousands, state’s Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, also participated in the rally along with BJP leaders and MLAs, forgoing party flags.
Rally participants carried the National Tricolour and posters crying out for “justice for Abhaya”, even as slogans for demanding the chief minister’s resignation shattered the afternoon city air.
A section of the media has been calling the RG Kar victim ‘Abhaya’. Identifying a rape victim is prohibited by a Supreme Court ruling.
The mother of the RG Kar victim alleged she was roughed up by the police during her march, an assault that allegedly took place when Kolkata Police baton-charged protesters at the Park Street crossing in central Kolkata to disperse the crowd which was trying to breach police barricades and move towards Vidyasagar Setu in their bid to reach the secretariat.
Both parents of the deceased victim were later admitted to a private hospital. A prominent bulge was observed on the forehead of the mother, allegedly caused by police excesses.
The mother, who reportedly suffered injuries to her forehead, hands, and back, underwent a CT scan and other diagnostic tests to assess the extent of both internal and external injuries, a hospital official said.
“The police shoved me and pinned me to the ground. They broke my ‘shankha’ (traditional conch shell bangle) and hit me on my forehead,” she alleged after the lathicharge.
The police, though, denied having used any force on the parents of the victim.
“We have no information about the victim’s parents getting beaten up by the police at the Park Street crossing. Police did not do anything to the parents at this point. But their allegations will be duly investigated,” DC (Port) Harikrishna Pai told reporters.
Undaunted by the police’s resistance, both parents walked all the way up to Hastings at the foot of the Vidyasagar Setu, where they were again stopped by a police barricade.
“Why are they stopping us like this? All we want is to reach Nabanna and seek justice for my daughter,” the victim’s mother said.
The protesters demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for “failing to protect women”.
“Why are you so inhuman? Why are you scared of us? We are unarmed,” the mother said, asserting she wouldn’t stop until she met the CM to seek justice for her daughter.
The victim’s father also alleged that police tried to prevent the family from reaching Dorina Crossing to join the march, despite Calcutta High Court’s permission for a peaceful rally.
“Police were tailing us from the time we left our home. At Sinthi crossing, when we entered Kolkata Police jurisdiction, police took photos of our vehicle and forwarded them to other officers in the city so that we could be stopped. We had to play a cat and mouse game with police to reach Dorina Crossing assembly point,” the victim’s father alleged.
Following the Park Street ruckus, Adhikari, along with other BJP leaders, held a three-hour sit-in before the police barricades. He alleged that over 100 protesters, including him and other BJP leaders, were injured in police action, many of whom had to be hospitalised.
Displaying a video clip purportedly showing police action on protestors, Adhikari said, “We will ensure appropriate action against Police Commissioner Manoj Verma and other officers involved in atrocities on peaceful demonstrators.” The city police, on the other hand, said they were likely to lodge a suo motu case against BJP MLA and former cricketer Ashok Dinda for allegedly threatening and assaulting policemen during the rally.
“There is enough evidence to suggest that the high court conditions for the day’s rally were flouted,” an officer said.
Unruly scenes were also witnessed on the western banks of the Hooghly River when agitators tried to breach barricades after they were stopped by the police at Santragachhi and Howrah Maidan.
Amid constant alerts over loudspeakers by the police urging protestors to abide by the high court ruling to maintain law and order, demonstrators were seen scaling the 10-ft-high barricades in their attempts to breach them.
Debanshu Bhattacharya, TMC media cell chief, said, “This is exactly what the BJP wanted, to create chaos on the streets and, when police respond, get the victim’s parents involved in it. I feel sorry for the victim’s parents who were trapped in the narrow and dirty politics of the BJP.”
Minister Sashi Panja alleged that the BJP tried to intimidate citizens and create division in society on the day of Raksha Bandhan.
