The city police commissioner, Vineet Goyal, on Tuesday instructed officers to remain vigilant for the women’s rallies scheduled on the city’s streets around midnight Wednesday to “reclaim the night” on the eve of Independence Day.

A social media campaign for the rallies to protest the rape and murder of a junior doctor on night duty at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last week has gained many supporters.

Goyal asked the officers in charge of at least three police stations to be alert on Wednesday night, said several officers who attended the police commissioner’s briefing on Tuesday morning.

Multiple rallies are scheduled to hit the city and its adjoining areas on at midnight Wednesday demanding “justice for RG Kar” with women saying “the night is ours” and “meyera, raath dokhol koro (women, reclaim the night)”.

Some of the venues in the city are College Street, the Academy of Fine Arts, Jadavpur 8B bus stand, Sakher Bazar in Behala and Sinthee More in the north.

“The police commissioner instructed officers to remain alert when men and women are scheduled to walk down the streets around midnight to protest the RG Kar Medical College incident,” said a senior police officer.

The venues where the protesters are likely to gather should be “well covered”.

Officers must have an idea of the proposed strength of the protesters at each venue and their route, the officer said quoting the police commissioner.

Goyal addressed his officers on Tuesday morning after inspecting Red Road for the Independence Day parade on Thursday. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to attend the Independence Day programme with other dignitaries.

The gathering on Wednesday night on College Street will begin around 11pm in front of the main gate of Calcutta University. It is expected to continue till 1am, organisers said.

“So far, we expect around 150-200 supporters to gather at the venue. If the count goes up, we can stay throughout the night,” said Triyasha Lahiri, one of the organisers.

“This will be a gathering of women by women. Men are welcome but we are not asking them to turn up to provide security to the women when they return home in the early hours. No particular organisation or outfit is organising this show. It’s about the women of the city,” Lahiri said.

As Medical College Kolkata is nearby, the organisers said they would desist from using microphones.

At Jadavpur and the Academy of Fine Arts, hand-held microphones may be used to address the gathering, they said.

A list of speakers was being drawn up for these two venues — Jadavpur and the Academy of Fine Arts — where participants are expected to start gathering from 11pm, the organisers said.

Gatherings are also expected at places like New Town, Dunlop, Nagerbazar, Lake Town and Airport No. 1 taxi stand.

The protests on Wednesday night would echo the “Take Back the Night” movement that feminist groups organised across the US and Europe in the 70s to protest violence against women.