Bengal boils as police crackdown on protest march on RG Kar rape-murder anniversary

Kolkata and Howrah were gripped by chaos on August 9 as police clashed with protesters during the “Nabanna Abhiyan” — a march to the West Bengal secretariat marking one year since the rape and murder of a junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College Hospital.

The rally, spearheaded by the victim’s parents and joined by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders, set off from Rani Rashmoni Road around noon. Waving national flags, the demonstrators pushed toward Nabanna, but were met with layers of iron barricades, guard rails, and heavy police deployment across both cities.

Tensions peaked at Park Street when protesters tried to dismantle guard rails and break through the barricades. Police responded with a lathi charge, dispersing the crowd. Adhikari, stopped mid-march, accused the Mamata Banerjee government of using force to silence dissent. “We will not budge. The Mamata government is scared. That is why the cops are doing this,” he said before staging a sit-in with other leaders.

The victim’s father alleged that police had tried to block them from even reaching the rally point. “People’s voices will not be throttled… We will get justice,” he vowed.

In Howrah, demonstrators at Santragachi scaled barricades in defiance, while others were intercepted at Howrah Maidan. Protesters from multiple routes failed to converge on the secretariat as police sealed off approaches. The Vidyasagar Setu and Howrah Bridge were shut to traffic, forcing commuters to use the Nivedita Setu instead.

The march, intended as a show of solidarity and outrage, ended in a tense standoff — with neither justice nor tempers finding resolution on the streets.