The protest march to Nabanna, West Bengal secretariat in Howrah, turned ugly and chaotic scenes ensued as protestors broke barricades and pelted stones at the police personnel deployed in the city. Cops in turn fired tear gas and resorted to water cannons and lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

The protest march is being carried out by students seeking Mamata Banerjee’s resignation days after a 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

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The rally has been organised by a student outfit, Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj (West Bengal student society).

West Bengal Police on Monday said that no permission was given for the protest march and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleged a political conspiracy to create unrest throw violence during the rally. Kolkata Police turned Nabanna into a fortress and as many as 6,000 police personnel were deployed to stop the protesters from advancing towards the secretariat from any route. Drones were also used to keep a watch on the marching protesters. Barricades were welded into the ground and greased to prevent the protesters from scaling them.

Four student activists arrested

The police arrested four student activists ahead of the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ protest march on Tuesday, saying that they were trying to “orchestrate large-scale violence”. The Opposition BJP said it would move court over the arrests.

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In a post on X, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP said four students —Subhojit Ghosh, Pulokesh Pandit, Goutam Senapati, and Pritam Sarkar — suddently went missing after Monday midnight. He said they were distributing food to volunteers at the Howrah railway station.

“Neither they can be traced nor are they answering their phones. We apprehend that they may have been arrested/detained by the Mamata Police. If something happens to them, Mamata Police will be held accountable. The families have approached Hon’ble Calcutta High Court. See you in Court Mamata Police,” he said.

Countering Adhikari’s claims, West Bengal Police posted on X, “A certain political leader has been trying to create a false narrative about four students who have apparently been missing since last night. The truth is, nobody is missing. The four were planning to orchestrate large-scale violence during the Nabanna Abhijan today, and were involved in a conspiracy of murder and attempted murder.”

The police said the four students were arrested in the “interest of public safety and security”, and their families had been informed.