Protests continue over death of student leader Anish Khan in West Bengal

Protests continued in the city and neighbouring South 24 Parganas district on Wednesday as students took out rallies, demanding an impartial investigation in the Anish Khan death case which is rocking the state.

Armed with placards, students blocked important junctions of Kolkata such as Park Circus, Jadavpur, and New Town's Narkelbagan, seeking justice for Khan.

The victim's family had alleged that people donning police uniforms entered their residence in Amta on Friday night, dragged the student activist to the terrace, and threw him down, causing his death.

In the New Town area near the city, hundreds of students of Aliah University sat on the road before Biswabangla Gate demanding justice for Khan, a former student leader of the seat of higher education.

"We are not sure if the two arrested in the case are the real accused. We stand by the family of the deceased and demand an impartial probe. If the investigation is not fair, maybe one day his father will be framed," Firoj Islam, a post-graduate student of the university, said.

The agitators, who also raised the Holla Bol' (Raise your Voice) slogan, withdrew the squatting after half an hour.

"We don't want to put people in hardship. We will be regularly knocking on the door of the state for speedy and impartial probe," he said.

JU students belonging to SFI and AISA took out a rally from the campus to the nearby 8B bus stand demanding action against the real killers of Khan and an impartial probe into the incident.

"We are here to protest the killing of a student leader for opening his mouth against the establishment. We are also protesting the brutal attack on our friends when they marched on the street yesterday demanding justice for the family of Anish Khan. We protest the way democratic movement is stopped while men in uniform are not being punished for pushing a young man to death," Imraz Hassan, a Jadavpur University (JU) student leader said.

The Students Federation of India (SFI) took out another rally from Moulali area in the city to the Aliah University city campus in Park Circus area during the day.

Holding placards which read "Anish we will not rest till you get justice" and "Shame on Police which conspires to kill a protestor", about 500 SFI activists shouted slogans demanding justice for the former Left leader.

SFI leader Subhajit Sarkar said they stood in solidarity with the agitating students of Aliah University and the family and friends of Khan, who was a prominent face in the anti-CAA protests in 2019-20.

In Bhangar area of South 24 Parganas district, members of the Indian Secular Front held protests demanding a faster and independent probe into the death of Khan, who had joined the ISF before the 2021 assembly polls.

ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui, who led the agitation, said "Anish was killed in cold blood by influential people of the area as his bold stand on different issues was not liked these people who are in league with a section of local police. We ask for an independent impartial probe which will not be influenced by state police.