Widespread disruptions are feared in and around Calcutta and Howrah because of a march to Nabanna called by an outfit called Paschimbanga Chhatra Samaj demanding chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation and justice for the doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The police have cited intelligence inputs suggesting attempts to incite large-scale violence and chaos during the rally.

On the eve of the rally, representatives of the organisers said they were unaware of the number of people who would turn up for the march and sidestepped questions on who would be responsible if any untoward incident happens on Tuesday.

However, they called for a peaceful protest, urging participants to refrain from any form of confrontation with the police.

Here’s what you need to know before stepping out on Tuesday:

Time

People are expected to assemble at at least three points from 1pm. The aim is to reach Nabanna around 2pm, said the organisers.

Assembly points

There are three meeting points — College Square, Santragachhi (Howrah) and Howrah station.

“There will be two meeting points — College Square and Santragachhi. People are expected to start arriving from 1pm. The aim is to reach Nabanna around 2pm,” said Sayan Lahiri, one of the organisers.

“The Sangrami Joutho Mancha (an umbrella platform of several associations of government employees) has backed our protest and will bring out a rally from Howrah,” he said.

Another representative of the organisers later said the third rally is expected to start from Howrah station and reach Nabanna via Howrah Maidan.

“Apart from the designated meeting points, people may start walking to Nabanna from other places if they so want,” Lahiri said.

Route

A route map shared by the organisers suggested the marchers from Santragachhi would be headed towards Nabanna via the Kona Expressway. From College Street, the marchers will walk towards Nabanna via the Hastings area and past the Eden Gardens, the map showed.

Lahiri said the marchers are expected to try to reach Nabanna via the Howrah bridge, Howrah Maidan, Belepole, Santragachhi and Andul Road in Howrah, Lahiri said.

But he also said protesters can take “shortcuts to Nabanna”.

“If cops stop you, request them to let you move ahead. Do not resort to vandalism. If there are enough marchers, we can overcome the police barriers. Once near Nabanna, don’t try to enter. Surround Nabanna and raise slogans demanding Mamata’s resignation and justice. Our coordinators will be there to assist you,” he said.

Numbers

Asked about the number of people expected to turn up, Lahiri said: “We don’t have any idea. We have informed all our friends, irrespective of political affiliations, to join the protests.”

The police could not share any estimate, either.

Curbs

Barring vehicles carrying “essential and perishable items”, including oxygen, milk, medicines, vegetables, fruits and LPG cylinders, the police have restricted the movement of goods vehicles on many roads leading to Nabanna on Tuesday from 4am till 10pm.

Calcutta

• A notification issued by police commissioner Vineet Goyal said the movement of goods vehicles will be restricted on Vidyasagar Setu, Kidderpore Road, Taratala Road, Diamond Harbour Road, Circular Reach Road, Hyde Road, Coal Berth Road and other roads leading to the Calcutta port. The restriction will also be in force on JL Nehru Road, RR Avenue, Dufferin Road, Mayo Road, Outram Road, Kidderpore Road, Queensway, Casuarina Avenue, AJC Bose Road, SN Banerjee Road, Strand Bank Road, KK Tagore Street, Kalakar Street, Brabourne Road and the Howrah bridge.
• “Arrangements are being made to ensure minimum traffic diversion because of the rally. Since forces will be deployed on all the routes leading to Nabanna, the movement of goods vehicles have been restricted,” said a senior police officer at Lalbazar.

Howrah

The Howrah City Police released a list of 21 places where the movement of goods vehicles will be restricted from 4am to 8pm on Tuesday.

• The roads and the places where the restrictions will be in force include Kona Expressway, Kona Truck Terminal, Salap Bazar, Liluah station flyover and many other roads in the Howrah city area.
• “Vehicles bound for Salap and Calcutta from Domjur will be diverted towards Nivedita Setu. Vehicles headed towards Calcutta from the Alampur crossing will be diverted towards Vidyasagar Setu,” a senior officer of the Howrah Police Commissionerate said.

Deployment

• Over 4,000 policemen will be deployed in parts of Calcutta and Howrah. Riot control vehicles will be stationed at several strategic points leading to Nabanna, including Esplanade, Hastings, Vidyasagar Setu, Santragachhi, Shibpur and Mandirtala, officers said.
• At least five layers of police cordon will be in place around Nabanna, senior officers said. The first and second will include officers of the rank of inspector-general, deputy inspector-general, superintendent and deputy commissioner. The third and fourth layers will include officers of the rank of additional superintendent and deputy superintendent. The final — the outermost — layer will include officers in charge of various police stations.
• By Monday afternoon, close to 2,000 police personnel from various districts turned up at the Shibpur police lines in Howrah as part of the pre-deployment exercise for the rally. “The scale of arrangement is bigger than what was seen during the BJP’s Nabanna Abhiyan in 2021,” the officer said.

The apex court had said the police should not take coercive action against peaceful protesters. But Sarkar reminded reporters that the court had also said: “This court has not injuncted the state from exercising such lawful powers as entrusted in terms of the law.”

Sarkar added: “This means that although the honourable court had instructed the police not to interfere in peaceful protests related to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital incident, that does not mean that the police cannot execute the law.”

Apprehensions

ADG (law and order) Manoj Verma said the police have intelligence that there will be trouble during the rally.

The police said it was a “sinister political conspiracy” in the garb of a students’ protest, whose intent was to create mayhem and trigger a violent police intervention, leading to more chaos.

“We have serious apprehension of law-and-order (problems).... We have concrete information that some mischief-makers plan to take advantage of the emotions of the common people and well-intentioned citizens,” Sarkar said.

“They will try to create large-scale violence, chaos and disturbance to an extent that the police are compelled to use force.”

Sarkar said the police had “specific intel about (such) conspiracies” and were identifying the plotters.

“Appropriate action will be taken…. The safety and security of the people is paramount, and non-negotiable,” he said.

Videos

The police cited videos that appeared to show men talking about the possibility of violence and deaths during the march.

“Du-ekta body toh porbei (One or two people are sure to get killed),” a man purportedly says in one of the videos, apparently recorded during a sting operation by Trinamool.

In another video, a man appears to be saying that spilling blood is important to bring about change.

On Monday evening, the police said they had identified a hotel off the EM Bypass where two leaders of the Paschimbanga Chhatra Samaj allegedly met a politician on Sunday.

“They went to meet the leader inside the hotel at 11.45am. We have all the details of the leader and the room number where the meeting was held. If necessary, we will share all the details with the court,” Sarkar said.

Exams

Thousands of students are to take the UGC-NET on Tuesday, with the exams to be conducted from 9.30am to 12.30pm and from 3pm to 6pm.

“We are receiving emails and calls. Anxious students want to know whether they would face problems reaching the exam centres,” Sarkar said.

“If anyone faces any problem, please contact the police. We will ensure the security of all the students and ensure they reach the exam centres without problem. Extra buses will ply from Howrah Station.”

Verma said that if any student faced any problem because of the rally, they should contact the police by dialling 100 or 112.

“Students can dial 100 or 112. They can also contact their nearest police station or the police on the roads. There will be adequate police presence on the roads tomorrow (Tuesday),” Verma said.

‘Alternative venue’

The police said they had requested the organisers to choose any other venue for their protest other than the state secretariat, whose immediate periphery is perpetually under “prohibitory orders” (bans on assemblies).

“We have identified other locations where peaceful protests can be carried out,” Sarkar said.

“The state secretariat is a high-security zone. It is under prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS, which is equivalent to Section 144 ofthe CrPC.”