It was a summer night in 1993. The clock had just struck one. The major roadways in Kolkata were covered with quiet. While the city slept, Mamata Banerjee, then a Congress leader, stood alone on a deserted Mayo Road crossing. A large Gandhi monument towered over her, serving as a symbol of the city's protest movement. She had just been released from custody, and the dead of night provided her with much-needed privacy after a wild day of protests.
What followed was a promise she would uphold for the next 18 years.
Banerjee had already established herself as a fiery leader known for her street-style politics and rustic demeanour by 1993.As Youth Congress chief, she was one of the party's best prospects in Left-ruled Bengal. She served as both an elected MP and a Union Minister of State in PV Narasimha Rao's cabinet.
On May 6, she was confronted with a violent situation. Dipali Basak, a speech and hearing-impaired girl from Nadia district, became pregnant after allegedly being raped by a CPM worker. According to Rikta Kundu, Nadia's Mahila Congress president at the time, the police turned down her complaint.
Banerjee was stunned after meeting her and her mother. She pledged to discuss the issue with the chief minister, the irrepressible Jyoti Basu.The appointment was scheduled for 3 p.m. the same day. A Trinamool team arrived at the Writers' Building, which served as the secretariat at the time. Banerjee was inside Basu's chamber when she learned that the chief minister was busy and would be unable to meet her. Basu eventually departed Writers' without meeting her.Her appointment was cancelled. The chief minister showed no willingness to speak with a Union Minister. This enraged Mamata," according to Abani Mohan Joardar, the former deputy commissioner of police (central), who later joined the Trinamool and became an MLA.

However, Banerjee refused to give up. She squatted in the halls outside of Basu's office. The rape survivor stood beside her. She demanded the rapists be arrested. The sit-in lasted three hours as Banerjee refused to leave without meeting Basu. The police physically removed her from the state secretariat. The procedure was chaotic. According to Rikta, the police used lathis to subdue the protesters. The pregnant rape survivor was injured by police and taken to the hospital, while Banerjee was forced into a police van, she said.

In such instances, a detainee either requests bail or is brought before the court the following morning. However, Joardar claimed he was requested to release Banerjee. She was originally reluctant to leave the lock-up, but accepted after speaking with him, according to the retired police officer.
As he went out of Lalbazar, Joardar realised why his seniors had suddenly chosen to release Banerjee. Outside, a throng of Youth Congress supporters had gathered and was throwing bricks at the police. Banerjee intervened and stopped them, Joardar explained.
A apprehensive Banerjee accepted to be dropped off at home in a police vehicle. According to Joardar, she spent some time alone at the Gandhi statue on the Mayo Road crossing.

Banerjee was so shocked by the forced evacuation that day that she promised never to return to the secretariat. She followed her commitment for 18 years, until she gained the same throne that had rejected her. Banerjee entered the Writers' Building for the first time since 1993 on May 20, 2011, following her election as West Bengal's first female chief minister.