Kolkata Citizens Protest Against Police Brutality and ‘Attack’ on Job Seekers

"Calcutta, which seemed to be in a coma, today seems alive after a long time," said Eminent singer Subhendu Maiti as he participated in a civic procession in Kolkata on Saturday afternoon. Prominent personalities from the art, literature, and culture world joined the protest march on the streets of Kolkata on Saturday afternoon to protest against the police attack in the dark of night on job seekers. Many were surprised to see the gathering of so many people following just a day of social media campaigning.

Kallol Bhattacharya, who participated in the protest, said, “The farewell for this government is now imminent. People's anger is increasing due to the way this government is attacking the common people every day. People will drag this government down the street.”

Lawyer Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay said that the job seekers were attacked by the police while they were sleeping at night. “When people wake up, these rulers will not be able to sleep,” he said.

Actor Badshah Moitra said that government schools will be closed in the coming days due to the way recruitment corruption is happening in the education sector. “This is their plan; it cannot be allowed to succeed,” he added.

During the march, the protesters expressed themselves with songs, poems, slogans, and speeches. The civic procession started in front of Victoria House, Esplanade with a large number of people – blocking the part of the city for some time. The people stuck in the traffic also lambasted the leaders and ministers of the corrupt government, calling them ‘thieves’. The march witnessed chants of ‘we shall overcome’ and sporting of black ribbons. The participants included students, elderly citizens, members of the West Bengal Job Seekers Manch as well as workers from the printing industry.

The march comes after the police’s alleged ambush at the protest site of the agitating fair job seekers in Bidhannagar last Thursday at midnight. The administration ended the 84-hour sit-in protest and the 61-hour hunger strike in just 15 minutes by reportedly dragging the protesters into a police van. Those who were supposed to be teachers in schools were allegedly dragged and beaten up by the police before being taken to the police station. It is learned that all were first brought to the Bidhannagar North Police Station and Newtown Police Station. Later that night, they were dropped at Dharmatala, Sealdah, and Howrah. The police have reportedly targeted and arrested students and youths who took to the streets on Friday to condemn Thursday’s incident.

A spontaneous civil society protest march without any political party’s banner was seen in Kolkata on Saturday afternoon. One of the protesters said, "This is the Kolkata we know, protester Kolkata." Actor Devdoot Ghosh, who was also present for the march, said, "This protest must spread everywhere."

Left Front leaders also came for the march to show solidarity. Left Front Chairman Biman Basu, CPI(M) State Secretary Md Salim, CPI State Secretary Swapan Banerjee, RSP General Secretary Manoj Bhattacharya, Forward Bloc Bangla Committee Secretary Naren Chatterjee, and other Left Front leaders were present for the procession. Congress leader Abdul Mannan also participated in the protest march.

Following the end of the procession, CPI-M State Secretary Mohammad Salim said in response to questions from reporters, "The chief minister held a carnival here. It gathered people with government money and administrative management. And look at the spontaneous participation of the citizens today. This is the tradition of Kolkata. The chief minister is trying to destroy it, but she cannot."