Kolkata, July 6 -- After spending nearly 24 hours under what the Trinamool Congress described as an unofficial house arrest, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday led a candlelight protest march in Kalighat against the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Baruipur.
Carrying candles and raising the slogan, "Justice for Baruipur," the former Chief Minister began the march from outside her Kalighat residence. Tension erupted shortly after the procession started as Central forces stopped the march at the entrance of the lane leading from her residence and put up barricades. Banerjee, however, crossed the barricades and continued the march towards Harish Chatterjee Street.
The Trinamool Congress later described the procession as a "Justice for Baruipur" march, saying Banerjee led the rally from her Kalighat residence to Hazra More. According to the party, thousands of Youth and Students' wing members, civil society representatives, MPs and MLAs joined the protest, united in demanding justice for the victim. Senior leaders Dola Sen, Derek O'Brien and Pratima Mondal were seen in the front row.
Ahead of the march, the Trinamool Congress launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari through a post on X, accusing him of failing to visit the victim's family while remaining occupied with political programmes.
The march came a day after the party alleged that Banerjee had been kept under "unofficial house arrest" following the deployment of police and Central forces outside her residence. In a Facebook Live on Sunday, Banerjee claimed that nearly 1,000 police and Central Force personnel had surrounded her home.
Meanwhile, rebel Trinamool faction leader Akhtaruzzaman said his group is also likely to visit the bereaved family on Tuesday. He said they do not want to create any chaos and would only seek justice for the victim while expressing solidarity with the grieving family.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.