A football match between two of fiercest Kolkata rivals cancelled in the backdrop of protests over a doctor’s gruesome rape and murder at a state-run hospital has stoked a fresh political controversy and galvanised deeply polarised supporters in what could be termed a rare unity — albeit transient and largely restricted only to fan pages on social media.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said the much-anticipated match was called off fearing mass protests, a leader of the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) said the cancellation would send a wrong signal. Meanwhile, some fan accounts on Sunday were harping on talks of unity among fans of the two clubs whose supporters land in frequent fracas and were involved in an ugly stadium clash in 1980 that left 16 people dead.
Come Sunday, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, two of India’s oldest football club’s with glittering trophy cabinets, were set to renew their rivalry at the Salt Lake Stadium in Bidhannagar on the city’s outskirts, in what could have been their first encounter this season. The “Kolkata Derby”, as the clash is famously called, is over a 100 years old — and despite India’s over-100 FIFA ranking, the folklores of the derby have made their way to the western media.
No wonder the anticipation was high. And this time, the demand for justice for a 31-year-old trainee doctor raped-murdered in Kolkata’s premier RG Kar Medical College and Hospital had drowned the usual shrill debate over supremacy and scorching taunts on Facebook fan pages. Some of the fan pages were brimming with calls for unity and ideas for banners demanding justice for the postgraduate medical student. But the bad news came on Saturday evening: officials had cancelled the derby because the police were not able to provide the necessary “security cover”.
“In an unprecedented move, Mamata Banerjee’s Police has cancelled Kolkata’s most awaited football match, the East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan derby, scheduled for 18th Aug. The tickets were all sold out. REASON GIVEN: inability to provide security for the game,” the BJP’s information and technology department chief Amit Malviya posted on X.
Malviya, whose party has stepped up attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government and demanded her ouster over the rape-murder, alleged that that the move was a testament to the deteriorating law and order situation in Bengal.
“…the REAL REASON is: supporters of both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan were planning to carry posters and placards seeking justice for the RG Kar MCH rape and murder victim, along with a demand for Mamata Banerjee to resign. The game was cancelled fearing this kind of mass protest,” he said in his lengthy post on X.
In the face of sustained attacks by the BJP, the TMC has backed the initial probe by the Kolkata Police into the RG Kar incident, denied any cover-up attempt, and accused its political rivals of fomenting trouble and politicising the crime that has sparked nationwide protests, including from the influential medical fraternity. CM Banerjee herself has blamed the BJP and the Left for vandalism at RG Kar Hospital during a midnight solidarity protest.
Sukanta Majumdar, a Union minister and the Bengal BJP boss, accused the state government of “failing on all fronts”.
“Is Kolkata Police so incompetent that they can’t provide security to sportspersons and a football match?
“@KolkataPolice has cancelled the East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan derby, citing inability to provide security,” he posted on X.
To be sure, it was the Bidhannagar Police that said they could not provide adequate security for the derby. Bidhannagar Police operate and Kolkata Police operate under two separate commissionerates.
There were voices in the TMC camp as well. Banerjee’s trusted lieutenant, Kunal Ghosh, said he was a Mohun Bagan supporter and requested the administration its decision to cancel the derby.
“If anyone wants to display a ‘Justice’ banner, let them. Ignore other provocative banners. Cancelling the derby will send a wrong. Bam-Ram [read the Left and the BJP] will increase criticism. Let the match happen,” his X post in Bengali said.
In fan groups, the disappointment was palpable — and there were murmurs of discontent over the police move.
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal fans unite to demand justice in the RG Kar medical incident. Fearing such protests, slogans, and banners, the administration has canceled the Sunday derby. pic.twitter.com/HwjeB95pGA— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) August 18, 2024
“Mohan Bagan and East Bengal fans are born rivals on field ! But now they are united. United for a cause. To bring justice for their sister. Seeing their unity even State Govt had to cancel the Sunday Derby,” a person posted on X.
Another said: “Congratulations to East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans! Your unity has shaken a whole government!”
The gruesome crime has shaken the nation, brought the functioning of the hospital under scrutiny, led to the ouster of its principal, prompted a court intervention, and sparked a political war of words. The Calcutta high court has handed over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). One person has been arrested in the case.
