Over 500 Aliah University students took to the streets in protest against the death of former SFI leader Anis Khan and clashed with police when they were stopped from marching towards the Writers’ Buildings on Tuesday afternoon.

The rally started from the university campus on Gorachand Road in Park Circus around 1.15pm with the demand for justice for Khan, a former student of Aliah University who had died mysteriously after falling from the terrace of his three-storey home in Howrah.

His family has alleged that he was pushed from the terrace by police.

The rally, which was scheduled to head for the Writers’ Buildings through SN Banerjee Road and the Dorina crossing, took a detour through Sealdah and MG Road and was stopped near College Street around 4pm.

Protesters who joined the rally organised by Aliah University students being arrested.

More than 50 people, including students, were arrested for law violation as many tried to break through the police’s barricades and cordons and were pushed away by the men in uniform.

Young men and women holding banners and placards demanding justice shouted slogans against the administration. Traffic was disrupted in pockets of central and north Kolkata.

The worst-affected pockets and stretches between 1pm and 4.30pm were Park Circus, Moulali crossing, AJC Bose Road, CIT Road, Suhrawardy Avenue, College Street, Sealdah, MG Road, Central Avenue and SN Banerjee Road.

The police said the students had informed them about their route to the Writers' but the sudden change was meant to outwit the force and create chaos on the road.

“Such changes in the route which are not shared with the police beforehand are usually made to distract the administration. We always keep stand-by teams for such last-minute changes. Hence, we could stop them on time,” said a senior police officer at Lalbazar.

The men and women who were arrested for law violation were taken into police vans and brought to the city police headquarters at Lalbazar.

As the sections under which they were booked deal with minor offences, they were granted bail and released in the evening.

There were multiple rallies organised by several students’ wings across the city protesting Khan’s death.

Presidency University students protest in front of the institute’s gate on College Street on Tuesday evening. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

A group of students of Presidency University blocked College Street on Tuesday evening to protest the arrest of the Aliah University students.

The protesters from Presidency sat on the road with banners accusing the state administration of trying to gag students. The blockade continued till late on Tuesday evening.