Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari invoked the religion-coded expression “Friday people” while announcing the first application of the state’s new anti-Goonda law against people allegedly involved in violence during the July 24 student-youth march in central Kolkata.The march, organised by eight Left student organisations and joined by the West Bengal unit of the Cockroach Janata Party and other groups, was called to press for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, the abolition of the National Testing Agency and accountability for the NEET paper leak. Trouble broke out after the largely peaceful procession reached Dorina Crossing. There, shoes, bottles and bricks were thrown at police and several journalists were reportedly targeted.The Wire spoke to several journalists present at the demonstration who said reporters, including women journalists, were heckled and abused. Videos from the protest showed men surrounding and hounding reporters, obstructing live broadcasts and making obscene gestures. Some journalists suffered physical injuries.Security personnel baton charge during a joint protest rally by Students Federation of India (SFI) along with Cockroach Janata Party demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Friday, July 24, 2026. Photo: PTI/Manvender Vashist Lav.The attacks occurred against a backdrop of growing public anger towards sections of the television media accused of disseminating erroneous, sensationalised or communally inflammatory reports. Protesters cited the conduct of individual reporters as examples of why some media organisations had lost public trust.‘Protesting students who helped us immensely’An audio-visual journalist present at the scene, however, told The Wire that the group responsible for the violence did not appear to have an identifiable political character. “The mob did not appear political to me. While we were being pushed and jostled, some political workers and students came to rescue us. They formed a protective ring around us. We cannot thank them enough. They also said that a group of young men had come from outside and were creating trouble beyond their control,” the journalist said, asking not to be named.“I want to express my gratitude to the protesting students who helped us immensely, surrounded us to keep us safe and apologised for the entire incident,” he added.In a joint statement, the Students Federation of India and other Left student organisations strongly condemned the attacks on media workers but alleged that people linked to the ruling establishment had entered the procession to engineer violence.“During the march, we noticed that certain individuals had entered the procession and were repeatedly trying to derail it. They also became involved in arguments with our volunteers. Later, this crowd belonging to the ruling side attacked journalists, and our volunteers were assaulted while trying to stop them,” the statement said.The organisations alleged that a police assault on the demonstration began immediately afterwards, leaving several students injured and hospitalised. “We want to tell every journalist who was injured that we stand beside you. We pledge to take every possible measure to ensure that such an incident is not repeated in the future,” they said.SFI state secretary Debanjan Dey alleged that the miscreants were sent by the BJP. “Dharmatala was brought to a standstill by the surging student movement. Amid that tide, some goons sent by the BJP tried to create trouble and attacked journalists. We condemn this incident.”The Wire has reached out to several senior police officers, including Kolkata Commissioner of Police Ajay Nanda, for their version of events. This report will be updated when they respond.Suvendu’s commentsPolice said 70 people had been identified and seven cases, six at Hare Street police station and one at Entally, had been registered. Adhikari said provisions of the newly brought West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, commonly called the ‘Goonda’ law, had been added to the cases.“It was those Friday people who did this,” Adhikari said, in an apparent reference to Muslims, who pray on Fridays.The chief minister publicly named five alleged offenders, Afroz of Rajabagan, Nahid of Khidderpore, Tanvir and Nizam of Ekbalpore, and Rahul Jamal of Watgunge. “Under the anti-Goonda law, we will take such action that not one but three generations of these goons will remember it,” he said.His emphasis on “Friday people”, followed by the selective naming of alleged offenders bearing Muslim names, gave the government’s response a distinctly communal framing.Students Federation of India (SFI) along with Cockroach Janata Party supporters during a joint protest rally demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue, at Sealdah, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Friday, July 24, 2026.Ranjit Sur, vice-president of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights, also alleged that the violence had been engineered to create grounds for using the new law.“Disturbed by the large participation of minority students, the communal chief minister branded those responsible as ‘Friday people’. All those said to have been identified under the anti-Goonda law are Muslims. The entire exercise is motivated and government-planned,” Dur alleged said.The claims that provocateurs were planted by the government or were linked to the ruling party have not been independently established. The government and police have maintained that members of the crowd attacked personnel and journalists.The new law permits preventive detention for up to 12 months without trial and allows authorities to expel people from specified areas for as long as a year. Its broad definitions and extensive powers of arrest, search and seizure have raised concerns over its possible use against political dissent. Its constitutional validity is under challenge before the Calcutta high court.The Kolkata Press Club also condemned the violence. “Journalists and photojournalists are being targeted in the name of protest. This is a very dangerous trend. The attackers must be identified and proceeded against under the law,” president Snehasish Sur and secretary Kingshuk Pramanik said in a joint statement.