Bengal govt approaches SC against release of Nabanna Abhijan convenor

Kolkata, Aug 31 (IANS) The West Bengal government on Saturday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court’s order directing the Kolkata Police to release Sayan Lahiri, one of the convenors of the Nabanna Abhijan (March to Secretariat) call given on August 27 to condemn the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this month.

Passing the order on Friday, the single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha of the Calcutta High Court also made it clear that no coercive action can be taken against Lahiri, not just in connection with the Nabanna Abhijan, but also in relation to any other police case against him.

Sources said that although Lahiri was released on Saturday afternoon honouring the Calcutta High Court’s order, the state government has now approached the apex court seeking to reverse the high court ruling so that Lahiri can be again taken into custody.

In the petition filed before the Calcutta High Court on Friday, Lahiri’s counsel had accused the city police of arresting his client on false charges. The petition was admitted and heard on an emergency basis.

After his release on Saturday, Lahiri said that despite all the hurdles that came his way, he will continue to protest till justice is delivered in the R.G. Kar case and all the others who were arrested in connection with the Nabanna Abhijan are released.

Lahiri was arrested earlier this week from outside the office of a vernacular news channel where he came for a panel discussion on the R.G. Kar issue and the Nabanna Abhijan.

However, on Friday the high court directed the police to release him by 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The court also rejected the argument of the state government’s counsel that Lahiri was a ‘highly influential’ person.

Parts of Kolkata and Howrah turned into virtual battlefields on the afternoon of August 27 following clashes between the police and the protesters.

At many places, the police had to resort to lathi-charge, firing of teargas shells, and use of water cannons to disperse the protesters moving towards the state Secretariat located in the Mandirtala area of Howrah district, which is adjacent to Kolkata.

A total of 220 arrests were made in this connection in addition to 25 preventive arrests that were made before the march.

–IANS

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