In Rare Sight, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan Supporters Come Together To Protest Kolkata Rape-Murder

Supporters of arch-rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan gathered near the Salt Lake stadium, the venue of the cancelled Kolkata Derby, on Sunday evening in a rare show of camaraderie to protest the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Over a hundred supporters of the two clubs initially gathered outside the stadium with placards and posters even as a Durand Cup match between the two most-followed football clubs of the country was cancelled with police citing concerns over the law and order situation.

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 with canes in hand in a high-voltage drama and detained some of them. Even though the police were somewhat successful in breaking the gathering at first, the protesters regrouped in small numbers and continued raising slogans.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey also reached the site a while later and met the angry fans of the three clubs.

"It is very shameful. Law and order have completely collapsed in West Bengal. A football match could not happen... and look at police deployment, it looks like a riot is going on," Chaubey, also a BJP leader, told PTI-Video.

The arterial road connecting the city's northern end to the south was eventually blocked