August 9
In a dramatic turn of events, police confronted protesters in the bustling centre of Kolkata. The protesters, led by the grieving parents of the young RG Kar doctor who was raped and killed last year, aimed to reach the West Bengal secretariat (Nabanna) on Saturday. Chaos erupted at the rally as protesters tried to breach barricades and advance towards Nabanna. Meanwhile, the victim’s mother claimed that police assaulted her, shattering her bangles in the process.
Police applied lathi charge to disperse the gathering of protesters, which featured numerous BJP leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly. Adhikari said that BJP MLAs and the parents of the victim sustained injuries due to the police’s actions.
Victim’s mother said, “The police under Mamata Banerjee assaulted me without any cause and shattered my bangles. What’s the reason for stopping us? My sole aim is to reach to the secretariat and seek justice for my daughter’.
The situation escalated when the rally shifted from the planned protest location and made its way to Park Street, a bustling spot in Kolkata. There, the protesters tried to push past police barricades, aiming to march towards the West Bengal secretariat.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been imposed in areas adjoining ‘Nabanna’. There were a lot of people gathering at the assembly points in Howrah and Kolkata, but the state police were not allowing the protestors from getting anywhere near the West Bengal secretariat.
Suvendu Adhikari, along with BJP leader Agnimitra Paul and other BJP MLAs, found themselves stopped by the Bengal Police. They decided to hold a sit-in at the Park Street-J L Nehru Road crossing, claiming that over 100 protestors, including Adhikari and fellow BJP leaders, were hurt due to police actions.
In August 2024, something really tragic happened when the body of a doctor was found in the hospital’s seminar hall. The situation caused quite a stir, not just in Kolkata but throughout India as well. People quickly gathered in the street to protest what was going on. The CBI took over the case while protests were happening all around. The situation also resulted in the college principal stepping down and sparked some criticism towards the state government.
