RG Kar incident: BJP workers clash with police during protest at Shyambazar

Kolkata: A clash erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Kolkata Police on Friday amid the Opposition party’s rallies and sit-ins across Bengal demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in light of the recent rape and murder of the on-duty junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The saffron party workers organised sit-in demonstrations in various parts of the state, including Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Dum Dum-Nagerbazar in North 24-Parganas and other locations.

The protest in Shyambazar was attended by several BJP leaders, including MLA Agnimitra Paul and Rudranil Ghosh. BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar also reached the spot and staged a sit-in there. The party workers were seen carrying posters and raising slogans against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government while describing the state’s condition as worse than failed democracies like Pakistan and Afghanistan.

According to the protesters, the planned rally at Shyambazar Five Point Crossing in Kolkata was thwarted by police while a stage set up for the rally was dismantled and several BJP workers were detained and taken to the central lock-up at Lalbazar police headquarters.

“By dismantling our stage, does the TMC think it can suppress people’s outrage over this horrific incident? The situation in Bengal is worse than failed democracies like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Banerjee should resign immediately for her failure to fulfill her duties,” BJP leader Dilip Ghosh told the media.

A scuffle also broke out between the police and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) SUCI (C) in Hazra when the latter were protesting during a 12-hour general strike in solidarity with the alleged rape and murder of the trainee doctor on August 9.