Police ready for action as the Trinamul Congress rally winds its way through central Calcutta on Monday. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Each cop was supposed to cover two rallyists. But at the end of the day, there were two cops for every rallyist.

Around 10,000 cops, armed with water canons and tear-gas launchers, hit the heart of the city on Monday afternoon to tackle the “Lalbazar abhijan” by Trinamul Congress. The police were expecting a turnout of 20,000 but only 5,000 protesters turned up.

Despite the fear of a law-and-order problem, the rally to highlight “police high-handedness” in the Charu Market flare-up ended peacefully, with protesters stopping well short of the police headquarters.

The police had erected barricades at the crossing of Phears Lane and BB Ganguly Street and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 on the stretch leading to Lalbazar.

The rally left Metro channel around 2.30pm and reached the crossing at 3pm. Not a single protester tried to cross the barricades.

“We expected around 20,000 people and feared a major law-and-order problem. But everything went off peacefully,” said a senior officer.

The main gates of Lalbazar were closed for two hours and a water cannon was kept ready inside. RAF personnel stood guard outside the building. “We were prepared for any eventuality,” said Vineet Goyal, the deputy commissioner (headquarters).

The police posted more than 50 pickets on roads leading to Lalbazar, cutting off the central business district from the rest of the city. Many commuters, including school students, got stuck for around two hours as vehicles were not allowed to enter the rally zone.

“I was stranded in BBD Bag and could leave for my Salt Lake office only after the rally ended. Thankfully, nothing untoward happened,” said 24-year-old information technology professional Anindya Basu.

The “poor” turnout at the rally came as a surprise to many. Trinamul sources said Mamata could not risk a flare-up in the city, especially after the Tata pullout from Singur. “Any violence would have alienated urban voters and even more. That’s why Mamata asked her men to keep the rally a low-key affair,” said a party leader.

Trinamul Youth Congress president Madan Mitra, however, said: “Ours was a peaceful protest and we had no intention to gherao Lalbazar. But it seems the police commissioner had turned the central business district into a battlefield to thwart our movement.”