The student organization affiliated with the RSS, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), staged a demonstration at Swasthya Bhavan today.
Earlier, in protest against the R G Kar hospital incident and demanding the resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the BJP has called for a blockade of Swasthya Bhaban on Thursday. But today, before ABVP gathered at City Centre, they attempted to march towards Swasthya Bhaban. The police, however, did not allow the ABVP leaders and workers to reach Swasthya Bhavan in Sector V, Salt Lake. The procession was stopped almost two kilometres away, near Indira Bhavan. There, the ABVP members squatted on the road in the rain, initially shouting slogans.
Tension escalated when they started breaking the barricades, leading to chaos. As the police tried to forcibly remove the blockade, a clash broke out. The entire area turned into a battlefield with stone-pelting and baton charges. Several ABVP workers were detained and taken away in police vans. The ABVP has accused the police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) of attacking their peaceful assembly. They have also alleged that male police officers used force against female supporters.
Sangeet Bhattacharya, the state secretary of the Vidyarthi Parishad, said, “We wanted to carry out the Swasthya Bhavan campaign peacefully. The police didn’t need to use batons on us.” He further claimed, “I did not go there to cause destruction. Given the situation in the state, I was going to look for the missing health minister. But the police attacked us. Meanwhile, those who vandalized R G Kar Hospital were allowed to do so by the police.” Sangeet also claimed that some of their members were injured in the police attack.