Image: Twitter
Kolkata students on February 25, 2022 continued protests demanding justice for the death of student leader Anis Khan in his hometown Amta and state capital Kolkata, said Telegraph India.
On Friday, Left parties, the Congress and students protested the alleged murder of the Alia University alumnus and Student Federation of India (SFI) activist. SFI-DYFI workers gathered at the Amta police station and demanded a thorough inquiry into Khan’s death. Since the deceased’s family accused the police of being involved in the case, protesters demanded that those responsible for the crime be immediately penalised.
During the protest, local police created barricades in Amta. However, the Telegraph said students broke through the police barricades. From then allegations of aggressions began from both sides. The police said that it tried to restrain protesters but eventually had to call senior police officers as the situation worsened. They said the civilians attacked the police with brickbats and by hurling water bottles resulting in minor injuries. Meanwhile, student and youth leaders accused the police of injuring students.
Similarly, the police arrested 67 SFI-DYFI activists in Kolkata, including SFI State General Secretary Srijan Bhattacharyya and National Secretary Mayukh Biswas and JNUSU leader Dipsita Dhar during a protest march from Rashbehari crossing to the Bengal police headquarters at Bhawani Bhawan. Trade unions also added their voices to the dissent.
Biswas wrote in a tweet on Friday, “We have been arrested and manhandled by Kolkata Police for demanding justice for Anish Khan.”
We have been arrested and manhandled by Kolkata Police for demanding justice for Anish Khan.
Lets see how far u can go, we are ready.#JusticeForAnishKhan pic.twitter.com/bKVKXEfGZd
— Mayukh Biswas (@MayukhDuke) February 25, 2022
AICCTU along with other trade unions protests in Kolkata against police violence and degradation of democracy in West Bengal under new TMC government . They demanded justice for Anis Khan. pic.twitter.com/LPgU5uEyQl
— AICCTU HQ (@AICCTUhq) February 25, 2022
#EiSamay Protest continues in Kolkata demanding justice #AnishKhan #SFI #AISF @MayukhBiswas20 @DharDipsita pic.twitter.com/TOhMHao2rd
— prasenjit bera (@prasenjitberaES) February 25, 2022
Similar solidarity protests are cropping up all over the state in Malda, Daspur and other regions. According to local activists, Khan had filed a complaint last year alleging that the ruling party had forcibly closed blood donation camps and sought urgent action to investigate “subsequent violence”.
#justiceforanishkhan
দাসপুর থানা ঘেরাও,অবস্থান ও মিছিল। pic.twitter.com/hjerHumbaz— Ranajit Pal (@Ranajit01686217) February 26, 2022
Agitation march in Malda, West Bengal by Fraternity Movement demanding the arrest and execution of the culprits behind the murder of Anish Khan.#justiceforanishkhan #JusticeForAnish #MuslimLivesMatter @Fraternity_movt pic.twitter.com/xpncyZTtly
— Abu Jafar Molla (@abuJafarmolla3) February 26, 2022
We shall overcome#JusticeForAnishKhan pic.twitter.com/mRQehIbmzr
— সৃজন সেন | Srijan Sen (@SrijanSen2007) February 26, 2022
Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega#JusticeForAnishKhan pic.twitter.com/QrZ9fwry6W
— সৃজন সেন | Srijan Sen (@SrijanSen2007) February 26, 2022
States reporting police-student conflicts
The first two months of 2022 alone mark four states and one union territory that reported widespread conflict between students and the police. The most recent was by Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) central university students in Delhi, who demanded the reopening of the campus that has been closed for more than two years. Fortunately, these students succeeded in having their demands heard despite arrests.
On January 31, Karnataka state police lathi-charged two separate student protest groups. The incident severely injured Dalits students and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists. The Dalit group was condemning the Principal District and Sessions Judge Mallikarjuna Gowda’s alleged decision to remove Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s portrait from the dais during Republic Day celebrations in Raichur. Whereas the ABVP group was decrying the sorry state of university hostels and the ‘delay’ in marksheet distribution to former students.
Before that, Bihar youths allegedly faced tear gas attacks and violence from state police amidst protests demanding employment for candidates who had appeared for the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exams. Once again, students were decrying the ruling regime for empty promises regarding jobs with no on-ground results.
Around the same time, Uttar Pradesh students faced brutal police violence inside student lodging for blocking railway tracks during protests. Videos of armed police officers terrorising students were viral on Republic Day. UP, which is facing elections in February and March has gained infamy over the years as a ‘police state’ with reports of police aggression against teaching aspirants and even civilians in the name of law and order at times.
The varied causes of these protests show that the respective states discourage youth dissent which is an integral part of Indian democracy. Nonetheless, protests in solidarity and Khan’s family continue to gain strength.
Related:
Kolkata: Student unions protest the alleged murder of activist Anis Khan
Police crackdown on student protesters in Delhi, Kolkata