Kolkata, June 8: A Kolkata court on Monday granted bail to CPI-M leader and SFI All India Secretary Srijan Bhattacharya and four others who were arrested during protests against a hawker eviction drive at Jadavpur railway station in south Kolkata.
The Alipore Police Court granted bail to all five accused on a personal bond of Rs 1,000 each. The court also directed Bhattacharya to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for November 3.
The arrests took place on Sunday night amid heightened tension over an eviction drive conducted by the Railways at the Jadavpur station premises. Several alleged illegal shops and structures were demolished using bulldozers as part of the operation.
A joint protest by the Left Front and Congress had been underway since Sunday evening, opposing the eviction drive. Heavy deployment of Kolkata Police, Railway Police, Central forces and barricades marked the area as authorities prepared for the demolition exercise.
Bhattacharya and several other protesters were detained before the operation began. A minor clash later broke out between police personnel and Left activists, leaving around 15 CPI-M workers injured. Among those injured was noted theatre activist Joyraj Bhattacharya, who reportedly sustained a head injury. Senior CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty also underwent a CT scan following the incident.
On Monday morning, members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) staged demonstrations outside Jadavpur University demanding the release of those arrested. CPI-M leaders accused the police of carrying out a “reckless lathi-charge” and condemned the demolition drive, describing it as a “bulldozer operation” targeting vulnerable traders.
Before being taken away in a police vehicle, Bhattacharya alleged that the Railways were conducting the eviction in violation of legal procedures and claimed that his arrest was unlawful.
The eviction drive has sparked controversy, with affected traders alleging that they received little or no prior warning before their shops were demolished. Similar operations have recently been carried out at Howrah and Sealdah railway stations, where hundreds of temporary structures and shops were removed as part of anti-encroachment measures.
