The Kolkata Police on Thursday resorted to unprovoked lathi-charge on agitating left Front workers injuring more than a hundred of them including left Front chairman Biman Bose, MP Md. Salim, former Minister Manab Mukherjee and CPI(M) central committee member Dipak Dasgupta.
The number of injured was likely to go up as more people were being taken to hospitals with head and other injuries Bengal Opposition leader Suryakanto Mishra said. Officially 32 people had been hospitalised in several Government facilities, a senior Police officer requesting anonymity said.
Many passers-by including women who were returning from offices were also injured even as the cops, many of who were in civil dresses rained blows. “Such was the situation at one point of time that parts of road at BB Ganguli Street and Ganesh Avenue were smeared with human blood as they were beaten like dogs” said a local tea vendor.
The commotion ensued after a huge procession arrived within a mile of lalbazar police headquarters to demonstrate against the falling law and order situation in Kolkata and neighbouring areas.
“The left had approached within the vicinity of lalbazar under a pre-declared programme where they were to submit a memorandum to the Police Commissioner protesting deteriorating law and order situation, organised hooliganism both of the police and ruling Trinamool Congress, rising crime against women, and frequent slapping of cases against the left workers. Even as negotiations were on the police resorted to unprovoked lathi-charge” Bose said.
The left was considering a more severe movement “even a bandh” senior leaders said adding the Front would soon meet and take decisions.
However the ruling party leaders claimed the left workers had thrown rotten eggs and tomatoes on the police. “Even if they did, did that merit such a brutal lathi-chargeIJ” Mishra said adding by their sheer strength the left could have pulled down the entire headquarters “but they didn’t as we do not subscribe to the politics of Mamata Banerjee.”
The incident took place within hours of the Chief Minister returning to Kolkata and declaring at the NSI International Airport that senior left leader and Forward Bloc MlA Udayan Guha had switched over to Trinamool Congress.” Guha is a heavy duty left leader in North Bengal and enjoys great following in Coochbehar district from where his father and former State Minister Kamal Guha was a Minister.
The Thursday’s incident came barely two days before the civic elections are to take place in a number of municipal corporations including Asansol, Bidhannagar-Rajarhaat, Kulti, Bally etc. Though the left was hoping to take mileage from the Thursday’s police lathi-charge some of its senior leaders said there was no possibility of their winning as “the Trinamool has filled the whole areas with armed criminals who are currently staying in guest houses in Salt lake, Asansol etc.”