Students unions protesting Saradha scam baton charged in Kolkata

Kolkata: A protest rally in Kolkata attended by thousands of students to protest against the recent Saradha group chit fund scam took an unruly turn when the protesters tried to break police barricades and were dispersed by baton wielding police officials.

According to a CNN IBN report, students’ bodies SUCI and AIDSO, backed by the Left parties, had organised a protest rally in central Kolkata. The rally was supposed to start at College Square in front of Presidency College and stop at Rani Rashmoni Avenue near Esplanade, in the centre of the city.

However, the Kolkata Police put up barricades at Bowbazar, which lies around the midpoint of the rally.

However, the protesters refused to stop their rally and video footage showed them breaking through the barricades and charging at the police personnel.

The police retaliated and tried to stop them by hitting some protesters with batons.

CPI(M) MP Mohd Salim told CNN-IBN that utter lawlessness has taken over Bengal and it seemed that except for Mamata Banerjee and her party, no one else would be allowed to voice their protests.

“Of course the police has been instructed to lathi charge the students by Mamata Banerjee. People are getting to see what kind of a government they have voted in. In a democracy, every political party has the right to protest.

“The students were not even allowed to cross Bowbazar and voice their concern. It is as if except for Mamata Banerjee no one else has a right to speak in this city,” said Salim.