The heart of Krishnagar turned into a battlefield on Tuesday afternoon as hundreds of DYFI and SFI activists stormed the streets, demanding justice for nine-year-old Tamanna Khatun, who was killed in the recent Kaliganj bomb blast.
What began as a protest march to the SP’s office quickly escalated into a fierce and bloody confrontation with police, leaving at least eight activists and two policemen injured.
With slogans of defiance and red flags fluttering in the wind, the CPI-M’s youth and student brigades, led by DYFI state secretary Dhrubajyoti Saha, marched towards the office of the Superintendent of Police, determined to break the police cordon and register their fury against the administration’s “calculated inaction.”
The police, well aware of the brewing storm, had turned the approach to the SP office into a virtual fortress, raising a 15-foot-high barricade of iron rods and wooden logs backed by three layers of security and nearly 500 armed personnel. But the defiant protesters, numbering in hundreds, were not to be stopped easily.
Breaking through the first barricade with sheer force, the protesters clashed with the police in front of the second barricade, leading to violent skirmishes. With fists, flags, and bare hands, the agitators pushed against the steel wall of police shields, refusing to retreat. The police responded with a heavy lathi-charge, raining blows on the protesters to prevent the march from advancing further. The air filled with screams, slogans, and the chaos of confrontation.
Several activists, including women, were left bleeding and battered on the streets, even as some police personnel sustained injuries amid the melee.
Speaking amidst the din, Dhrubajyoti Saha said: “Tamanna was murdered by Trinamul-backed criminals who hurled socket bombs during their victory procession even before the Kaliganj bypoll results were announced. The police know the accused; they have a list of 24 names in the FIR. Yet they have done nothing.”
Taking direct aim at the Mamata Banerjee government’s police machinery, he said, “In Birbhum, Anubrata Mondal used slurs against police and walked free. In Kasba gangrape, police did nothing. In R G Kar hospital, police failed again. Why should we keep faith in such a police force? We will confront the SP right on the streets.”
The activists also demanded an immediate crackdown on illegal arms and explosives allegedly stockpiled in Mulandi village and other parts of the district.
The police, tight-lipped about the allegations of inaction, maintained that the protest turned violent and had to be contained to preserve public order. But the ugly scenes of bloodied activists, trampled flags, and scattered shoes told a story of deepening unrest in the district — a grim reminder that the echoes of Tamanna’s tragic death are far from silenced.