Jadavpur eviction protest: Court grants bail to CPI-M leader Srijan Bhattacharya, four others (Ld)

Kolkata, June 8 (IANS) A court here on Monday granted bail to five people, including CPI-M leader Srijan Bhattacharya, who were arrested on Sunday night during a protest against a hawker eviction drive in south Kolkata’s Jadavpur area.

The court granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 1,000 each. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for November 3.

The Alipore Police Court judge said that Srijan Bhattacharya would have to cooperate with the investigation as a condition of bail.

Incidentally, an eviction drive was carried out at the Jadavpur railway station premises late on Sunday night. Several alleged illegal shops and constructions were demolished with bulldozers.

A joint Left Front-Congress protest had been underway in Jadavpur since Sunday evening against the eviction drive. A large number of police personnel and Central forces were deployed at the spot, and barricades were also erected.

CPI-M leader Srijan Bhattacharya and several others were arrested before the demolition drive began.

About 15 CPI-M workers were injured after a minor clash broke out between Left activists and police personnel.

On Monday morning, SFI members staged a protest outside the Jadavpur University campus, demanding the immediate release of those arrested, including SFI All India Secretary Srijan Bhattacharya.

A senior CPI-M leader said on Monday: “Reckless lathi-charge by BJP government police at Jadavpur station. Five were arrested, including Srijan Bhattacharya. About 15 people were injured, including one who was critically injured. Party leader Sujan Chakraborty had to undergo a CT scan. All the shops adjacent to Jadavpur station have been demolished. Railways has given 15 days’ notice to the remaining ones. We strongly condemn this bulldozer drive by the new government.”

The hawker eviction drive began in Jadavpur late on Sunday night. Several alleged illegal shops and constructions were demolished with bulldozers within the station premises.

While being taken into a police van, Srijan Bhattacharya had said: “The Railways are doing illegal work. They have come to evict hawkers ignoring the courts and the law.”

He claimed that he had been forcibly and illegally arrested.

Tension and panic spread in the area surrounding the eviction drive. There were allegations of lathi-charge on the protesters.

Many people, including theatre activist Joyraj Bhattacharya, were injured in the incident. It is learnt that Joyraj Bhattacharya suffered a head injury.

The area near the 212 bus stand in Jadavpur had remained tense since Sunday evening.

Tension had been building due to fears of a sudden eviction of hawkers. Several bulldozers were parked near the protest site. Kolkata Police, Railway Police and Central forces were present at the scene.

The eviction operation began a few hours later, with one shop after another being demolished using bulldozers.

Last Tuesday, tension prevailed in the Jadavpur station area amid fears of a hawker eviction drive. Left leaders and workers joined the protest that day as well.

They alleged that a bulldozer had been stationed outside the railway station. However, the eviction did not take place on Tuesday.

Earlier, the Railways had carried out eviction drives against alleged illegal hawkers within the Howrah and Sealdah station premises.

In some cases, bulldozers were also brought in to demolish alleged illegal constructions.

According to sources, around 500 temporary huts and small shops were removed from the Sealdah and Howrah station premises. Bulldozers were also used to demolish alleged illegal multi-storeyed structures in different parts of Howrah.

The traders concerned have faced difficulties because of the overnight eviction drives.

Some claimed that they arrived in the morning to find their shops gone. Others said they rushed to the spot at night after receiving information about the eviction operation.

Almost all of them had the same complaint — that the Railways had launched the eviction drive without prior warning.

–IANS

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