6,000 Cops, Water Cannons, Barricades: Why Kolkata Tense Today Over March To Nabanna?

Kolkata: An ‘apolitical’ show of strength in the form of a rally—anticipated to be a mega march to the Bengal secretariat, Nabanna today (Tuesday)—has turned political heat over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Amid the massive outcry over the incident, this march—called by a non-descript outfit, Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj, is being seen as a key event against the Mamata Banerjee-led state government.

The march has been called to purportedly demand Mamata’s resignation over the incident and how the state handled its investigation. Three individuals—Subhankar Haldar, Sayan Lahiri and Prabir Das—have claimed themselves to be the organisers. The organisers of the march had reportedly said the crowd would assemble at 2 pm for the ‘March to Nabanna’ or ‘Nabanna Abhijaan’ on Tuesday (August 27).

At a recent news conference, the trio claimed that they met on social media and termed their initiative as apolitical. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party has called the event as illegal and blamed the BJP, RSS  and CPI(M) sympathisers of attempting to trigger chaos in Kolkata. The march apparently has tacit backing of the RSS, BJP sources told the India Today. However, BJP has not made any official declaration regarding this. The CPI(M) has also distanced itself from it. Moreover, the protesting junior doctors have also declared that they will not join the protest.

Bengal’s secretariat, Nabanna, turns a fortress

More than 6,000 Kolkata Police personnel have been deployed in the city to prevent protesters from marching towards the secretariat. The area around the secretariat has been turned into a fortress with three-layered security by Kolkata Police and Howrah City Police. Barricades have been installed at 19 points in the city with five aluminium barricades at key points.

Heavy Radio Flying Squads (HRFS), Rapid Action Force (RAF), Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs), drones and water cannons have also been deployed. An Additional Commissioner of Police-rank officer is in charge of maintaining law and order. Officers in the ranks of Joint CP and DCP will be in charge at various points. Some of the crucial points are Howrah Bridge, Hastings and Hooghly Bridge.

Additional forces from different districts have already been brought to Kolkata. Over 1,500 assistant sub-inspectors, constables and traffic constables have also been brought in from various districts for deployment in and around Nabanna that also houses the chief minister’s office. The police are focusing on key points like Hastings, Shibpur Road, Howrah Bridge and Howrah Maidan.

‘Rally illegal, intelligence input hint at attempts to incite violence’

At a media conference, TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh, Jay Prakash Majumdar and Chandrima Bhattacharya had shared two videos in which multiple individuals can be heard saying that the march was not going to be peaceful and there could be fatalities, reported the India Today. Even, the cops claimed that according to intelligence inputs there could be attempts to trigger violence. Moreover, police claimed that they didn’t allow permission for holding such a rally around the Secretariat, which is a high-security zone.

‘Don’t unlease power on protesters’

Meanwhile, Bengal Governor has urged the state government ‘to remember the strong pronouncement of the Supreme Court of India and let not the power of the state be unleashed on peaceful protesters.’ ‘Democracy can have a silent majority, not a silenced majority. Remember that,’ said Governor CV Ananda Bose.