Fresh clashes broke out between police and protestors on GT Road in Howrah Maidan area when they tried to march towards the state secretariat as a part of their 'Nabanna Abhijaan' on Tuesday afternoon.
Police lathi-charged and used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protestors who threw stones and bricks at the security forces and attempted to topple barricades blocking their way to the state secretariat.
A policeman, who identified himself as the in-charge of Chanditala police station in Howrah Police Commissionerate, was injured in the clash.
A similar situation unfolded in Hastings and MG Road area, where protestors threw stones at police, who were seen chasing them away.
"Why were we beaten by police? We did not break any laws. We are holding a peaceful rally to demand justice for the deceased doctor. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should take responsibility and resign," said a woman protester.
The protestors were attempting to reach the state secretariat, Nabanna, to demand the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the rape-murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College.
Police said they began lathicharging and tear gassing after the agitators breached barricades at some locations and attacked security personnel.
Howrah bridge and Santragachhi
Howrah bridge and Santragachhi, both across the Hooghly turned into battlegrounds as the protestors desperate to reach the state secretariat faced water cannons, tear-gas shells and tear-gas grenades.
The protestors who had started the march holding the tricolor soon picked up stones lying along the railway tracks and bricks and hurled them at the cops. Several cops have sustained injuries in the brickbatting.
The cops and the protestors were engaged in blows at Howrah as the rallies took a violent turn.
“The state police and Calcutta Police have started tremendous atrocities on the protesting students. Protesters have been injured at College Square and Santragachhi. I am warning them. If they do not stop immediately we will bring Bengal to a halt on Wednesday,” said Suvendu Adhikari, leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly and BJP leader.
The state police had denied permission to the Chhatra Samaj and the Joutha Sangram Mancha to hold Tuesday’s protest rally.
The protestors included men and women of all ages, including an elderly sadhu with a flowing white beard spotted at the Howrah bridge who challenged the cops to handcuff him, had assembled. The number of ordinary people far more than the students, who were supposed to have issued the call for the march demanding the resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
On Howrah’s Foreshore Road, police lathicharged to disperse the crowd. The vast part of the action till now has been at Howrah Bridge and the surrounding areas.
Barricades that were set up on a war footing overnight, that also included blocking parts of Calcutta’s Red Road with containers, were uprooted at some places but the police pushed back with the methods available with them: water cannons, lathis and tear-gas shells.
For now the protestors and the cops are playing a cat and mouse game in some places. The protestors pushed back by the cops are returning back to the spot. At some places in Howrah the protestors are squatting on the road. At Santragachhi the protestors climbed atop the barricades only to face the brute force of water cannons aimed at them.
“Is this what peace means? We did not start this,” a protestor was caught saying on camera on the Howrah Bridge.
At College Square a woman protester came from Nadia in the first train at 3.30 am, said their only demand was the resignation of the chief minister.
Police chased the protestors away from the bridge charging ahead with firing tear-gas shells. The battle on the street has been on for more than an hour and a half.