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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been at the receiving end of the public anger that's boiling over after the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Now, the protestors face the wrath of the security personnel pulled into protect the Secretariat, reports a number of Indian and western media.
Kolkata Police on Tuesday used tear gas and water cannons on the participants of the Nabanna Abhijan, a protest march expressing anger against the state government 18 days after the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Protestors, led by an unregistered student outfit called the Pashchimbanga Chhatra Samaj, clashed with the police on GT Road in Howrah Maidan, near the Bengal state secretariat called Nabanna, the Press Trust of India, a news agency, reported on August 27.
Earlier in the day, near Santragachhi Railway station on Kona Expressway, protestors attempted to break through police barricades to reach the state secretariat, Nabanna. Police responded with lathi charges, water cannons and tear gas to disperse the agitators.
What are the demands of Pashchimbanga Chhatra Samaj?
The protestors have listed three demands: capital punishment for the culprits behind the rape and murder on August 9, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation, and justice for rape victims.
Members of the Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal, called the rally 'illegal' and one propped up by their political rivals like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, the organiser of the protest march has reportedly insisted that not a single BJP leader is part of the rally.
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday alleged that police resorted to "brutal repression" on the peaceful participants of the 'Nabanna Abhijan' rally in the city and Howrah and threatened to stall West Bengal if the "brutalities" by state administration was not stopped.
The escalation in the protest wasn't unexpected.
The state Secretariat had been turned into a fortress a day before, with 6,000 security personnel — Heavy Radio Flying Squad (HRFS), Rapid Action Force (RAF), Quick Reaction Team (QRT) — deployed well before the march from College Square began.
An Additional Commissioner of Police level officer has been assigned the responsibility of maintaining law and order. Joint Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police level officers will take charge at various places, including Howrah Bridge, Hastings and Hooghly Bridge.
Additional security forces from various districts have already been brought to Kolkata from various districts. The police focus on major places like Hastings, Shibpur Road, Howrah Bridge, and Howrah Maidan.
