Kolkata, Aug 28: The streets of Kolkata were gripped by violence and chaos following a protest rally that took a wrong turn in the state capital. Following this, Union Minister and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumder called for a '12-hour bandh' in the state on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a protest march to West Bengal Secretariat 'Nabanna' was organised by the 'Paschim Banga Chatra Samaj' and other organisations, which aimed to protest the recent rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor in Kolkata.

The rally termed "Nabanna Abhiyan" started from the College Square in the capital of West Bengal, amid heightened security around the West Bengal state secretariat with protestors gathering at the Santragachi area in Howrah.

Later, the police hosed protestors with water cannons as they climbed atop police barricades, clashed with police personnel and broke the barricades at Santragachi in Howrah during the protest march.

Protestors also dragged away police barricades and police resorted to opening lathi-charge and lobbying tear gas shells to disperse them.

Following the chaos, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) TMC listed "BJP's idea of a 'peaceful protest'," in a social media post in X, which includes stone pelting, pushing barricades, severely injuring the police, orchestrating extreme chaos and disrupting the law and order of the state.

TMC further stated that the "Nabanna Abhiyan" was a conspiracy by the BJP and was "nothing short of a FATAL ATTACK on Bengal!"

BJP leaders also expressed their anguish over the ongoing chaos in Bengal. BJP National President JP Nadda took to X and said,

"The images of police highhandedness from Kolkata have angered every person who values democratic principles. In Didi's West Bengal, to help rapists and criminals is valued but it's a crime to speak for women's safety."

At a press conference in the national capital, BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia also took a jibe at the TMC and said, "If there is any dictator in the country, then that dictator is Mamata Banerjee... The truth should come out; the investigating agency, CBI, should do a polygraph test of Mamata Banerjee and the Police Commissioner. The truth cannot be suppressed and the biggest thing is that as long as these people are in their positions and are crushing the students and tearing the Constitution to pieces, this will not be tolerated; this issue will be raised strongly as it has been raised today."

Union Minister and West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar was seen at a protest outside Kolkata Police Headquarters in the Lal Bazar area demanding the release of students who were detained by police today, following the chaos that happened at the protest rally.

"The police and Mamata Banerjee have unleashed violence on the student agitation. They have lathi-charged, used tear gas and used water cannons on the democratic, peaceful protest... Our demand is simple: the students who have been arrested by the police should be released," Majumder said. Majumdar has also called for a 12-hour bandh in the state on Wednesday.

Earlier, the check gates at the rear of Fort William at Hastings in Kolkata were greased by civic workers in an attempt to thwart protestors from scaling the barricades. The police have also deployed vajra vehicles, water cannons, and the Riot Control Force in the area while containers were placed to block the roads. West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose today urged the state government not to use power to stop the "peaceful protesting students."

Later today, Bose expressed his angst over the chaos and said that it was a ghastly sight that they witnessed on the streets of Kolkata today.

"I would say disproportionate force and coercive power were used by the state in dealing with the situation, ignoring the Supreme Court's pronouncements that state power shall not be unleashed against peaceful protesters. This is the ghastly sight that we saw today on the streets of Kolkata. Certainly, this cannot be appreciated in any manner," he said.

On Monday, Additional Commissioner of Police Kolkata, Supratim Sarkar, said that they have rejected an application by 'Paschimbanga Chhatro Samaj' to hold a rally called 'Nabanna Abhijan' on August 27. He added that the police rejected their application because the group did not seek formal permission and provided insufficient details.

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All these came following the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata's R G Kar Medical College and Hospital premises, which sparked nationwide outrage and since then several protests have been staged demanding justice for the victim. The trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall on August 9. (ANI)

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