Kolkata: West Bengal Police said that Tuesday’s march to state secretariat Nabanna is “illegal”, since the organisers were not permitted to hold the rally to press for their demand for the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the wake the alleged rape and murder of a doctor.
A student outfit ‘Paschim Banger Chhatra Samaj’ and another organisation, ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’ have called for the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’.
After the ADG (Law and Order) Manoj Verma told a press conference earlier in the day that no permission was sought for the rally by any of the organisers, they sent emails informing the force about the programme. However, permission to hold the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ was not granted to them for several reasons, another senior officer said.
“We have learned about the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ rally through various media channels and social media. To date, neither any individual nor organisation has applied for permission, making the event illegal,” Verma said.
He said that Nabanna is a restricted area as prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS are in force near the secretariat preventing the assembly of five or more people.
“The Supreme Court had allowed peaceful protests but the court has not prohibited the state from exercising such lawful measures,” Verma told reporters.
He said that any planned event near Nabanna requires police approval, which is rarely granted.
“We are getting inputs from various sources that miscreants with vested interests will try to create a law and order situation to provoke a response from the police, which they would then exploit,” the police officer said.
He assured people that the police were working on these inputs. Verma urged the public not to fall into any trap and advised them to avoid the area.
“We are prepared to make arrangements for them (organisers) at other venues in Kolkata and Howrah, provided they follow legal procedures,” he said.
Verma also assured students appearing for Tuesday’s UGC NET exams that ample arrangements are in place to ensure that they can take the tests without problem. Additional Deputy General, South Bengal, Supratim Sarkar, later told reporters that the police did not give permission to both organisations.
“We have received separate mails from the Paschim Banger Chhatra Samaj and also by Sangrami Joutha Mancha only after we held a press conference. The one from Chhatra Samaj is only an intimation about the programme without any details and not seeking any permission. Hence it was rejected,” Sarkar said.
The second application though had details but was also rejected because of two reasons, he said.
One was because of the UGC NET examination on Tuesday and the other reason was permission is not granted to anyone to hold gathering around the Nabanna due to the existing prohibitory orders, Sarkar said.
Earlier, he said that they had input that one of the representatives of a student wing had met a political leader at a five-star accommodation in Kolkata.
“We have never heard of the existence of any such ‘Paschim Banger Chhatra Samaj’. Many committees exist but there is no organisation by this name. One of the organisers met with a political leader yesterday in a 5-star hotel,” he said.
“We will request the people not to fall prey to conspiracies and to maintain normal life. The secretariat will function like any other normal day and all the arrangements have been ready for that,” Sarkar said.
Meanwhile, the Howrah Police Commissionerate issued an order imposing traffic restrictions in connection with Tuesday’s ‘Nabanna Abhiyan’. The state headquarters is situated in Howrah.
PTI