Kolkata: The West Bengal government filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Saturday, 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 issued on August 27 to condemn the rape and murder of a junior doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this month.
The Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha issued the order on Friday, making it plain that no coercive action can be taken against Lahiri, not just in connection with the Nabanna Abhijan but also in any other police case against him.
According to sources, although Lahiri was released on Saturday afternoon in accordance with the Calcutta High Court’s order, the state government has now gone to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the high court ruling so that Lahiri can be placed in custody again.
In the appeal submitted before the Calcutta High Court on Friday, Lahiri’s lawyer accused the city police of arresting his client on false allegations. The petition was accepted and heard on an emergency basis.
Following his release on Saturday, Lahiri stated that, despite the obstacles, he would continue to protest until justice was served in the R.G. Kar case and all those jailed in connection with the Nabanna Abhijan were released.
Lahiri was arrested earlier this week outside the office of a vernacular news channel while attending a panel discussion about the R.G. Kar case and the Nabanna Abhijan.
However, the high court directed the police to release him by 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The court also rejected the state government’s counsel’s argument 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.
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At many places, the police had to resort to lathi-charge, the firing of teargas shells, and the 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.
In this connection, 220 arrests were made, and 25 preventive arrests were made before the march.
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–IANS
