Why were only 350 officers deployed to control a mob about 10,000-strong?

After coming under attack for opening fire in Nandigram, the police exercised “restraint” in their handling of the rowdies who crippled the city on Wednesday. And though it may have kept fires burning in the streets till evening, the mode of response may have averted a bloodbath.

With most of the fighting taking place in narrow lanes, firing would have resulted in certain deaths, said commissioner of police Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti. “Our prime job was restraining the demonstrators. That is why we didn’t need more men. We did not want to apply force because the issue was very sensitive,” said Chakrabarti.

But recent allegations of police brutality were at least partly behind the restraint. “Who will dare to open fire? If we do, people will claim it is unconstitutional,” said Chakrabarti.

As the situation spiralled out of control, the army was deployed in the city for the first time since May 30, 1996. But it, too, played the part of a silent spectator. In fact, the men from Fort William’s Gorkha regiment, fourth battalion, found unexpected additions to their numbers as they marched through the streets — the rioters themselves.

Far from being intimidated by the fatigues and semi-automatic weapons, the demonstrators joined the troops as they marched from the Park Circus seven-point crossing to Moulali and back.

The team of 100 men arrived in three trucks at the Park Circus seven-point crossing at 3.15pm. They cordoned off the crossing where demonstrators were shouting slogans and parading Taslima Nasreen’s effigy. They then split into two groups — one marched down AJC Bose Road, while the other headed towards the Park Circus connector.

Demonstrators fell in line with soldiers, continuing their shouts of “Taslima go back”. Near the Park Street crossing, Lieutenant Colonel Rakesh Godari, leading the battalion, told the civilians not to follow.

The crowd fell back for a while, but soon continued as before. Near the Ripon Street crossing, Godari stopped again, requesting the demonstrators to walk in front, not behind them. At Moulali, the troops did a U-turn and walked back to Park Circus, where they mounted their vehicles and drove down the same route again.

The army had not been asked to directly intervene. “We are trying our best to control the situation,” said Subrata Narayan Sarkar, the additional commissioner of police (I). “If we find that it is beyond our capacity, we will call on the army to take action.”

Under orders not to fire, the police force — comprising men from five police stations and 100 RAF personnel — stuck to teargas, with around 200 rounds being fired through the day. “This is a war-like situation and, like in Nandigram, we were reduced to mere spectators,” said a senior officer.

Though the force had two anti-riot vehicles — one used to fire teargas and another for water jets — neither was deployed on Wednesday. The RAF had asked for rubber bullets, but was told there were none in stock.

Three IPS officers were injured in street fights. Deputy commissioner (south) Jawed Shamim was hurt by soda water bottle fragments that ricocheted off a lamp post and hit his right hand. Kuldiep Singh, additional commissioner (IV), and Zulfikar Hasan, joint commissioner (armed police), sustained minor injuries.