Hundreds of people in Bhangar took out procession under the banner of Jomi-Jibika-Bastutantra O Poribesh Rokkha Committee (committee for protecting life, livelihood, ecology and environment) to protest the arrest of the organisation’s spokesperson, Alik Chakraborty. Chakraborty was arrested on Thursday from Odisha’s Bhubaneswar by the West Bengal Police.
Chakraborty, a leader of CPI-ML Red Star, has been leading an agitation in Bhangar in South 24 Parganas – 35 km from Kolkata – against the setting up of a power grid in the area. The power grid is a project of the Power Grid Corporation of India, a Central government PSU and the villagers have been against the construction since 2016. For the past one and a half years, the agitation has gained momentum, and the Left parties have also shown their solidarity and joined the agitators.
Alik Chakraborty is now being brought to Kolkata from Bhubaneswar by road and will be produced in Baruipur court tomorrow. There are over 150 cases against him, which the organisation says have been falsely slapped on him, including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Jomi-Jibika-Bastutantra O Poribesh Rokkha Committee and the CPI-ML Red Star took out several protest marches throughout the day, including in Odisha (where Chakraborty was arrested), Bhangar and in Delhi, outside Banga Bhawan.
Protesters in Bhangar blocked roads and held marches. According to Sharmistha Chowdhury from the organisation, “If one villager is touched by the police, the Trinamool Congress will live to regret it.”
The agitation has been against the ruling Trinamool Congress government in Bengal, which has been keen on implementing the project. In the recent rural polls, the Jomi-Jibika-Bastutantra O Poribesh Rokkha Committee has backed independent candidates and won several gram panchayat seats.
Chowdhury said that the Committee was planning a series of protest programmes in the coming days.
