Cane and 'balm'

After the West Bengal police lathi-charged journalists and Left Front supporters during a rally in Kolkata, there was a series of protests from the Fourth Estate, angry citizens as well as Opposition parties. A day after the lathi-charge, the state police went into damage control mode. Not only did it approach journalists, photographers and cameramen during their protest march with the utmost politeness, it also put up posters to smoothen ruffled feathers. A banner in Paschim Medinipur district, for instance, reads: “We are with you... Press is the watchdog of society”.