Kolkata rape-murder case: Junior docs stay the night at Bowbazar after cops block Lalbazar march
Times of India | 3 September 2024
KOLKATA: The junior doctors on Monday marched to Lalbazar carrying roses and a replica of the human spine, demanding the resignation of Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal. The protest continued till late into the night as the doctors demanded to meet Goyal at the protest site on BB Ganguly itself if they were not allowed to march till Lalbazar.
As the rally approached Lalbazar in the afternoon, the junior doctors were stopped at the BB Ganguly Street-Phears Lane crossing.They urged cops to remove the barricade and allow them to march till Lalbazar. They assured cops that they would end their rally in front of the police headquarters and only the representatives will meet the police commissioner. When the cops reportedly refused to remove the barricade, the junior doctors squatted on the road and demanded Goyal pay a visit to the protest site. Till last reports came in, they continued with their demand to meet the commissioner.
Convened by the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front (WBJDF), doctors from across medical colleges started their Lalbazar Abjijan from College Square on Monday afternoon. They accused the police force of a 'botched' investigation right from day one. The cops were also blamed for not doing enough to prevent the vandalism in RG Kar Hospital on Aug 14 night.
"Where were the cops when a mob had ransacked and attacked us on the night of Aug 14? Now they are stopping our peaceful march," said a junior doctor.
The cops started preparing for Monday's march on Sunday morning itself. Several trucks ferried the 9ft high guard rails that were put up on BB Ganguly Street to stop the protesters. The security outside the police headquarters in Lalbazar was also reinforced. On Monday, the positioning of the guard rails started early in the morning. Additional forces from different divisions arrived by 9 am. More than 500 personnel were deployed on BB Ganguly Street.
Cops put up the first barricade at the CR Avenue-BB Ganguly Street crossing to stop the procession. Several senior officers were positioned behind the barricade. The second barricade was put up at the BB Ganguly Street crossing and the third one - with the high guard rails - a few metres behind the second barricade. Personnel of the Rapid Action Force and reserve force were deployed in lanes and bylanes leading to BB Ganguly Street. A massive force stopped the agitators on BB Ganguly Street.
That the protesting doctors wanted the stir to be strictly apolitical became clear when BJP MP and former Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Ganguly was heckled when he went to express his solidarity with the agitation around 9.15 pm.
Amidst the tussle of words with the cops, the doctors broke into a celebration when they heard about the arrest of Sandip Ghosh, the ex-principal of RG Kar Medical College.