'Nabanna Abhijan' Rally: Civic workers grease gates of Fort William to stop protestors

Kolkata: In a potential move to control the protestors, the check gates at the rear of Fort William at Hastings, in Kolkata being greased by civic workers ahead of the 'Nabanna Abhijan Rally' which is scheduled for today.

The West Bengal Police has tightened the security all over the area and deployed heavy forces to control the protests. The police have also deployed vajra vehicles, water cannons, and Riot Control Force in the area while containers were placed to block the roads.

Student organisation 'Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj' and the 'Sangrami Joutha Mancha' are set to hold their 'Nabanna Abhijan' rally on Tuesday, despite the administration's declaration of the event as illegal.

The rally to the state secretariat is focused on demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the arrest of those implicated in the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at Kar Hospital.

Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj is an unregistered student group, while Sangrami Joutha Mancha represents state government employees who are advocating for their Dearness Allowance (DA) to be aligned with that of Central government employees.

The state police have termed the rally "illegal" and "unauthorized," citing concerns over potential violence and public disorder.

ADG (Law and Order) Manoj Verma indicated that there is credible intelligence suggesting attempts by miscreants to incite chaos during the protest. Consequently, the government has imposed prohibitory orders near Nabanna (state secretariat) under Section 163 of BNSS, restricting gatherings of five or more people.

The Trinamool Congress has denounced the rally as a "conspiracy" to create public disorder, releasing videos that purportedly show BJP leaders from Ghatal, Paschim Medinipur district, planning to provoke violence. The persons shown in the videos have been detained for questioning.

In the wake of possible disruption of normal life because of the protest march, several educational institutions will either hold online classes on Tuesday or have declared a holiday.

Governor CV Ananda Bose has urged the state government to refrain from using force to prevent the rally, advocating for the students' right to protest.

"In the context of the peaceful protest announced by the students' community of West Bengal tomorrow and the reported suppression of the protest by several instructions from the government, I would urge the government to remember the strong pronouncement of the Supreme Court of India. Let not the power of the state of West Bengal be unleashed on peaceful protestors," Bose said.

Meanwhile, the CBI on Monday held a second round of polygraph tests on former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and five others as part of their investigation into the rape-murder of a woman doctor at the institution.

According to an officer, over the last 10 days, Ghosh provided inconsistent answers during questioning, prompting officers to conduct another round of polygraph tests.

The CBI initially conducted the lie-detection tests on Ghosh and others on Saturday, followed by a test on the arrested accused Sanjay Roy at the Presidency Correctional Home on Sunday.

Ghosh and former hospital official Sanjay Vashisth are also being investigated for alleged financial irregularities at the institution. 

PTI