Shafaqna India: Police allege the rally breached Calcutta High Court conditions on crowd size and road use; separate case registered over alleged vandalism at the venue.
Kolkata Police have registered a suo motu case against the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress over alleged violations of Calcutta High Court directives during the party’s Martyrs’ Day rally held on 21 July at Cathedral Road in central Kolkata.
The complaint, lodged at Hastings Police Station, alleges that the organisers failed to comply with court-imposed conditions governing the event, including restrictions on crowd size and traffic management.
Earlier this month, the Calcutta High Court had permitted the rally subject to two conditions: attendance was not to exceed 2,500 people, and the event was to be confined to one carriageway of Cathedral Road, with the other remaining open to traffic.
According to police, attendance at the rally exceeded the permitted limit, forcing authorities to close both carriageways and divert traffic in the area.
A police official said supporters occupied both sides of Cathedral Road after the programme began, disrupting vehicular movement and compelling officers to implement traffic diversions to maintain law and order.
Police have alleged that the developments amounted to a violation of the high court’s order and have named the conveners and organisers of the rally in the case.
In a separate development, Hastings Police Station has also registered another suo motu case over alleged vandalism at the rally venue on the night before the event.
According to the complaint, around 15 youths on motorcycles arrived near the venue on the night of 20 July, raised slogans and allegedly damaged banners and other materials installed at the site.
Police said the group fled after officers stationed at the venue gave chase, leaving behind two motorcycles, which have since been seized.
An investigation is under way to identify those involved in the alleged vandalism, police said.
