Dramatic scenes unfolded during the Pakistan vs Bangladesh World Cup cricket match held at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 31st October when four individuals were temporarily detained by the local authorities for waving a Palestinian flag in the presence of other spectators and cops. However, they were eventually set free following initial interrogation.
The incident reportedly transpired near Gate 6 and Block G1 of the stadium, where the accused displayed the flag. According to accounts, the the purpose of the demonstrators was first unknown to the police stationed at Eden Gardens, nonetheless, their temporary confinement resulted after the instance.
The Palestinian flag was waved when Bangladesh was batting during the first innings of the match. It was shown as a symbol of protest against the ongoing dispute between Israel–Hamas in Gaza, the Palestinian area controlled by the terror group. The perpetrators are in their mid-twenties and were identified as residents of the Bally, Ekbalpore, and Karaya Police Station areas. Two of them were political workers who had entered the stadium after participating in a protest march.
They were taken into custody and questioned by the police at the Maidan Police Station before being released at midnight. A senior police officer informed, “After preliminary questioning, all the four have left Maidan Police Station. They are residents of the Bally, Ekbalpore and Karaya PS areas. We had detained them for waving the Palestinian flag near Gate 6 and Block G1.”
He proclaimed, “Policemen posted at Eden Gardens initially could not understand what the protesters were up to. Then they waved the Palestine flag before being detained. They, however, did not raise any slogan.”
Three or four people chose to fly the Palestinian flag in protest of the war, according to a man named Shehnaz. He added that the group did not anticipate the incident being a contentious one. “I heard that the war is going on. Everyone said that it must be stopped. We started protesting against it by waving the flag of Palestine. We did not expect that there would be a controversy while waving the flag. We also did not expect that photos and videos would go viral.”
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sishir Bajoria responded to the event by challenging the involvement of the Kolkata Police who were stationed at Eden Gardens for the World Cup match. “It is the responsibility of the police to stop this. How can anyone do this? This will have a national impact. There is appeasement politics in West Bengal. This was not expected.”
Notably, Pakistani cricketer Muhammad Rizwan dedicated Pakistan’s victory against Sri Lanka in the World Cup match in Hyderabad last month to the people of Gaza after which the country lost four straight games against other teams, including India and Afghanistan which almost ended their chances of making it to the semifinals.
This was for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. 🤲🏼
— Muhammad Rizwan (@iMRizwanPak) October 11, 2023
Happy to contribute in the win. Credits to the whole team and especially Abdullah Shafique and Hassan Ali for making it easier.
Extremely grateful to the people of Hyderabad for the amazing hospitality and support throughout.
Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets to keep their slim hopes of qualifying in the next round alive. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has been officially eliminated from the tournament.
