Violence erupted on the streets of Kolkata and Howrah on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 as protesters, during the march to Nabanna the State Secretariat, demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the rape and murder of a doctor at the R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The situation turned volatile on the Howrah Bridge and at Howrah-Maidan where protesters tried to climb over barricades. The police had fixed guard rails to the ground with cement and in certain areas used containers to block the mob. Violence also erupted near Hastings, where the police had set up barricades preventing protesters from taking the Vidyasagar Setu, a bridge across the Hooghly river, to Nabanna.
The police used water cannons to disperse the crowd and fired hundreds of tear gas shells to keep the protesters away as they tried to breach the barricades. They prevented protesters from reaching within 100 metres of the Secretariat. According to Additional Director General (South Bengal), West Bengal Police Supratim Sarkar, 25 persons were detained overnight and 126 persons, 103 men and 23 women, were arrested on Tuesday.
The march was called by Paschimbango Chhatro Samaj, an apolitical students’ group. The State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, called for a 12-hour Bengal bandh on Wednesday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., for the ‘police excesses’ on the protesters. “This bandh is to protect the people of the State from an autocratic government and restore democracy in the State,” State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said while announcing the bandh.
The West Bengal government said all measures will be taken to ensure that normal life remains unaffected on Wednesday. “The government will not allow any bandh on Wednesday. We urge people not to participate in it,” said Alapan Bandopadhyay, the chief advisor to the Chief Minister. He urged all government employees to attend office, and said that shops, marketplaces and other business establishments have been asked to remain open.
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Published - August 28, 2024 07:55 am IST
