Families stare at legal abyss after police pick-ups
Times of India | 26 July 2026
Kolkata: Kolkata: Families in several Kolkata neighbourhoods spent an anxious Saturday trying to trace relatives after police picked up multiple men in connection with Friday’s protest rally over the alleged NEET paper leak. Till late Saturday night, police arrested 11 people for their alleged involvement in Friday’s clash.
The action came a day after a rally organised by eight Left student and youth organisations, along with the city chapter of the Cockroach Janta Party, demanded the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the dissolution of the National Testing Agency.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari mentioned some of the names and promised strict action.
From late Friday, police visited Rajabazar, Ekbalpore, Mominpore, Watgunge and Rambagan, picking up several people who had attended the rally. Family members and neighbours said many were taken away and they were not sure if they were detained for questioning or formally arrested.
In Rajabazar’s Patwar Bagan, the family of Arshad Ali, 50, alleged that a few local BJP functionaries visited their home shortly before police arrived. He was later arrested.
“My husband went to the protest rally on Friday, but he told me he was not involved in any unlawful activity,” said his wife, Nausheen Mukhtar. “In the morning, several men came to our house asking about my husband. They were local BJP functionaries. They asked him why he was seen disrespecting the poster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video. My husband did not do anything like that. Soon after, cops arrived and took him away.”
Arshad’s brother-in-law, Shabbir Ali, said the family later learnt that he was taken to Lalbazar, but they were still unaware of the allegations against him. “He is innocent. He just went to participate in the protest. We do not even know what his crime is,” Shabbir said.
Similar accounts emerged from Ekbalpore, Mominpore and Watgunge, where residents said several local youths travelled together to attend Friday’s march. Many families spent the day visiting police stations and contacting acquaintances to find out where their relatives were taken and whether any legal process had begun.
“Most of them were known to be Trinamool supporters but were lying low after the defeat of the party in the April-May assembly election. On Friday, several big groups went from the port area to participate in the rally,” said Tariq Naqi, a Mominpore resident.
A relative of Tanvir, another person picked up by police, said they were not sure why he was being taken away. “The police said he was being taken for questioning about Friday’s rally. We were not told whether he was being arrested or what his offence was,” the relative said.
Residents of Rajabazar said the administration should distinguish between peaceful protesters and those responsible for any violence. “There was no organised gang from the area to unleash violence during the protest. In a video, I saw some youths pelting bottles and shoes at the police, but I could not identify anyone from my locality,” said social activist Umar Awais.
Md Irshad, a trader from Naquib Ali Lane in Rajabazar, echoed the concern. “Those who are actually at fault should be punished, but other youths from our neighbourhood who are innocent should not face harassment,” he said.
Till late Saturday night, families in the affected neighbourhoods were still waiting for clarity on the legal status of those taken away.