Kolkata Police has prohibited unlawful assemblies of five or more people in specified parts of Bowbazar, College Street and Chittaranjan Avenue under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, with the restriction scheduled to remain in force until Tuesday or until further orders.
The order was issued on Sunday by Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand, according to a report by Anandabazar – Kolkata. The notification states that the restrictions are intended to prevent a possible breach of peace and ensure public safety. It applies only to identified stretches within the Bowbazar police station area and not to the entire jurisdiction.
The restricted locations include the section of College Street between Kolutola Street and Eden Hospital Road; the section of Chittaranjan Avenue between Kolutola Street and Eden Hospital Road; Kolutola Street between College Street and Chittaranjan Avenue; and Eden Hospital Road between Chittaranjan Avenue and College Street.
Under the notification, unlawful gatherings of five or more people are prohibited in these areas. Carrying or moving around with sticks or weapons is also prohibited. The order does not specify a single incident as the direct cause of the restrictions, but says the measures are necessary to prevent the possibility of disturbance and maintain public safety.
The timing of the order follows a crowd-related incident at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Puja in Kolkata on Saturday. The Anandabazar report said the gathering became severely overcrowded and created a stampede-like situation in which 19 people died. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also arrived in the state on Saturday, according to the report.
The police notification does not state that the restrictions cover all of Bowbazar, and its geographic limits are defined by the four road stretches listed in the order. This distinction is significant in a dense central Kolkata area where College Street, Chittaranjan Avenue and adjoining roads accommodate pedestrians, businesses, religious gatherings and regular traffic within a compact urban network.
The order will remain effective until Tuesday or until a subsequent direction is issued, according to the police commissioner’s notification. The source report did not provide further details on enforcement arrangements, exemptions or the specific assessment that led police to select these stretches.
