Friday, 20 September 2024
Friday, 20 September 2024
When arch-rivals like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan unite for a cause, you know that the people have had enough. The competitors are standing shoulder to shoulder, to fight for justice for the brutal rape and murder of the 31-year-old PGT trainer from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Their protest was met with a heavy police presence, which resorted to lathi charges and detained several fans. Photos of the chaos are flooding social media.
Supporters of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan gathered near the Salt Lake stadium in Calcutta on Sunday evening in an unprecedented show of camaraderie to protest the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
In a rare sight, supporters of the two clubs held each other's flags and raised slogans demanding justice for the victim's family, with a huge contingent of the police keeping a vigil on the situation. Supporters of the Mohammedan SC, another major football club, also joined the protests a while later.
The finger-pointing has begun, and it is squarely aimed at the government. Yes, the TMC, which has been in power for over a decade now, is being called out for its failure in ensuring the safety and security of its citizens. The government, which promised “poriborton” (change), seems to be delivering anything but, says the football fans.
“It’s shameful; law and order in West Bengal has collapsed. A football match couldn’t happen, and now it looks like a riot is unfolding,” said Kalyan Chaubey, president of the All India Football Federation, who joined the protests. “If even half the police deployed today had been present for the match, it could have gone ahead,” he told ANI.
As the protests spilled onto the busy EM Bypass and blocked the traffic, police chased the agitators in a high-voltage drama and detained some of them. Even though the police were somewhat successful in breaking the gathering initially, the protesters regrouped in small numbers a while later and continued raising slogans.
"We want justice for the sister who was gang-raped and murdered. Together, we Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan fans have assembled here peacefully. Why so many policemen have been deployed? Why the match had to be cancelled? Don't we have the right to demand justice for the victim," asked Bittu Senapati, a Mohun Bagan supporter.
Police said prohibitory orders under section 163 of the BNSS were imposed in the area from 4 pm till 12 am to prevent any disruption of peace.
For defying the prohibitory orders, some of those who gathered here were detained, they said.
"The murder of this young doctor isn’t just another statistic. She was one of us. She could have been your sister, your daughter, your friend. And now, she’s another name on the long list of women failed by the system. The kind of failure that no amount of compensation or condolences can cover up", said a Mohun-Bagan supporter on live television.
The protesters are questioning the police's priorities, wondering why they were absent when chaos erupted at RG Kar, but are now suddenly aggressive in dispersing peaceful protesters.
"Why weren't they there when it mattered? What are they doing now?", asked many. The irony isn't lost on anyone—when the city needed protection, the police were missing, yet today, they show up in force to lathi charge citizens demanding justice.
Despite the rain, the Bypass is flooded, with Fans of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, who are usually divided by fierce rivalry. They are braving the weather and the threat of police action to raise a collective voice: "We want justice."
A senior police officer said there were intelligence inputs that attempts would be made to trigger violence during the match, because of which it was cancelled.
"We had specific information that some groups and organisations would attempt to create disturbance in the stadium," he said, adding that 63,000 spectators were expected for the match.
The scene at Bypass is powerful, as the people, abandoned by the system when they needed it most, are now taking matters into their own hands.
The eternal competitors have united and this shows why football is not just a game but a way of life.
