GUWAHATI: Chaotic scenes unfolded in Kolkata as police clashed with protesters marching toward the state secretariat, Nabanna, in response to the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
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Riot police reportedly deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd, while some protesters retaliated by throwing stones. The protest, which lacked official permission, was met with strong resistance from the authorities, who had fortified Nabanna with 6,000 police personnel and drones for surveillance.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has accused the protest organisers of conspiring to incite violence, a claim they deny. The protesters, who included various student organisations and citizen forums, demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation over the handling of the rape-murder case. Despite Trinamool's allegations that the protest is backed by the BJP, the organisers insist it is an apolitical movement, although many established student groups have distanced themselves.
This morning, four student activists involved in the protest went missing, leading to concerns that they had been detained by police. Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, raised alarms on social media, accusing the police of detaining the students, a claim the police later confirmed, citing public safety concerns. The families of the detained students have since approached the Calcutta High Court.
Trinamool leaders continue to assert that the protest is part of a larger plot to create unrest, releasing videos they claim show plans to incite violence. State minister Chandrima Bhattacharya accused the BJP and its student wing, ABVP, of orchestrating the protest to provoke chaos, alleging a conspiracy to create a situation similar to the Nandigram incident.