In rare sight, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan supporters join hands to protest Kolkata horror
Supporters of arch-rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan gathered near the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Sunday evening in an unprecedented show of camaraderie to protest the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The supporters gathered outside the stadium even as a Durand Cup match between the two major Indian football clubs was cancelled amid concerns over the law and order situation.
In a rare sight, supporters of the two clubs held each other's flags and raised slogans demanding justice for the victim's family, with a huge contingent of the police keeping a vigil on the situation. Supporters of the Mohammedan SC, another major football club, also joined the protests a while later.
Actor Usashi Chakraborty and theatre personality Sourav Palodhi were among the protesters wearing the jerseys of the clubs they support.
As the protests spilled onto the busy EM Bypass and blocked the traffic, police chased the agitators in a high-voltage drama and detained some of them. Even though the police were somewhat successful in breaking the gathering initially, the protesters regrouped in small numbers a while later and continued raising slogans.
«We want justice for the sister who was gang-raped and murdered. Together, we Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan fans have assembled here peacefully. Why so many policemen have been deployed? Why the match had to be cancelled? Don't we have the right to demand justice for the victim,» asked Bittu Senapati, a Mohun Bagan supporter.
Police
