Nabanna Abhijan Rally: In seven different places across Kolkata and Howrah, 4,500 policemen are expected to erect obstacles to keep protestors from entering the state secretariat.
The call for a “Nabanna Abhijan 2024,” or march to the state secretariat in Kolkata on Tuesday, August 27, demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case of a 31-year-old woman trainee at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, caused tensions within the West Bengal administrations.
While the students’ group “Paschimbanga Chhatro Samaj” insisted that their August 27 “Nabanna Abhijan” protest would be nonviolent and centered on calling for Mamata Banerjee’s resignation and the arrest of those accountable for the rape-murder case, Kolkata additional commissioner of police Suratim Sarkar announced on Monday that the group’s application to hold the march had been denied.
Nabanna Abhijan Today: 10 Updates
- Separately, the unregistered students’ organization Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj (West Bengal Students Community) and the state government employees’ organization Sangrami Joutha Mancha (Joint Platform of Struggle), which has been protesting for a long time for their right to equal pay with that of the federal government, issued calls for Nabanna Abhijan.
- The West Bengal Police has referred to the planned demonstrations, which have primarily gained social media support as “illegal” and “unauthorized,” it has stated that it has taken the appropriate safety measures to alleviate concerns about possible law and order issues during the march.
- Candidates for the UGC-NET won’t encounter any interruptions from the march to the state secretariat in Nabanna, according to a Chatra Samaj official Sayan Lahiri, because the exam will be given in two shifts. There will be two sessions for the UGC-NET: from 3 to 6 p.m. and from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. A candidate’s eligibility for assistant professor posts at colleges and universities and junior research fellowships (JRF) is determined by this method.
- Speaking to reporters at Nabanna, ADG Manoj Verma stated that police have obtained reliable information indicating that miscreants may try to blend in with demonstrators to cause widespread disruption and violence during the demonstration, according to news agency PTI. It went on to say that the state administration had already issued prohibitory orders in the nabanna area under Section 163 of the BNSS, which forbade meetings of five or more individuals.
- Around 4,500 police officers are reportedly preparing to erect barricades at seven different areas in Kolkata and Howrah to stop the demonstrators from getting to Nabanna, according to media reports.
- The source continued by saying that the demonstrators would be scattered by riot-control cars positioned around Kolkata, hundreds of guard rails, drones, and tear gas shells.
- The Trinamool Congress released two alleged films of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Ghatal in the Paschim Medinipur district plotting to foment violence at the gathering, branding it a “conspiracy” to create disorder on the streets. The police took both leaders into custody to question them.
- In addition to formally declaring on Monday that it would not be taking part in the Nabanna Abhijan, the Bengal BJP also announced that, regardless of political affiliation, it was ready to support any protest movement that demanded justice for the RG Kar medical college case. Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar claimed that recordings that were “doctored” were being used to malign a non-political movement.
- In the meantime, a video message aired late on Monday night by the Raj Bhavan included Governor CV Ananda Bose pleading with the state administration to refrain from using force to prevent the students from planning the rally.
- Nationwide indignation resulted from the vicious sexual assault and demise of a female resident physician at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. In the wake of the incident, which shook the country, many protests demanding justice for the victim have taken place.
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