People take part in a rally in Kolkata on September 1, 2024, in protest against the rape and killing of doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. | Photo Credit: Debasish Bhaduri
Three weeks after the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, there was no let up in the protests with thousands of people taking to the streets of Kolkata on Sunday (September 1, 2024) demanding justice for the victims. . Several processions were taken out from north to south of the city which saw people from all walks of life, alumni of prominent educational institutions, including the Ramakrishna Mission, and prominent faces of the Bengali film industry raising their voices against the heinous crime.
Film star Aparna Sen, along with actors Swastika Mukherjee, Sudipta Chakraborty, Chaiti Ghosal and Sohini Sarkar, walked the streets of the city demanding justice for a post-graduate trainee doctor whose body was found in a seminar room on August 9.
While similar rallies have been held in Kolkata for the past three weeks, those who rallied on Sunday (September 1, 2024) raised questions about the investigation into the crime and alleged a cover-up. “The public has the right to ask for answers and to know the truth. We have faith in the court, and we hope for the investigation,” said Ms. Aparna Sen. Ms. Swastika Mukherjee asked why after so many days only one person was arrested.
The only person arrested in connection with the heinous crime so far is Sanjay Roy, a civilian police volunteer, who was arrested by the Kolkata police before the investigation into the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Human chain
Ramakrishna Mission alumni march on Sunday (September 1, 2024) from Golpark to Rabindra Sadan Exide Crossing carrying banners with the message ‘Tamaso Maa Jyotirgamaya (Lead me from darkness to light)’. Hundreds of alumni of St. John Diocesan Girls also marched from Minto Park to the school complex before forming a human chain near Exide Crossing demanding justice for the victims.
Political parties in the government and opposition also staged protests on Sunday. The Bharatiya Janata Party has held a demonstration in the city’s Esplanade area, while the Trinamool Congress has called on its supporters to hold protests in every block demanding justice for the victims.
The Trinamool Congress government has asked the Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly to hold a special session in the next few days to pass a law to provide for the death penalty for those convicted of sexual assault.
Meanwhile, as an angry protest over the RG Kar incident, another incident of sexual assault came to the fore in Howrah, where a laboratory technician was arrested for allegedly molesting a minor in a state-run hospital. The incident took place on Saturday evening at the Howrah District Headquarters Hospital, where the 12-year-old girl was being treated last week. Leaders of the Democratic Youth Students Federation of India (DYFI), the student wing of the CPI(M), staged a demonstration outside the hospital.
Junior doctors see patients and distribute free medicines at Abhaya Clinic, a temporary medical camp, along a road in Kolkata on September 1, 2024. | Photo credit: AFP
Telemedicine services
Resident doctors of the state-run hospital that have been on strike for the past three weeks have started a telemedicine service to help patients. On Sunday, protesting resident doctors, including from RG Kar started Abhaya Clinics at three places in the city to provide consultation to patients. “Abhaya Clinic” in memory of the deceased doctor has been set up at Kumartuli and Esplanade. Prescriptions given to patients have slogans like “we want justice”. The protests spread across the cultural sphere with singer Shreya Ghoshal canceling a concert in the city and singer Arijit Singh composing a song for the victims.
Amid the widespread anger on the streets, certain leaders of the Trinamool Congress, including two MLAs, have come out with a statement against the protest. Trinamool MLA from Canning Paschim Paresh Ram Das appealed to party supporters to prevent any fresh attempt to “Reclaim the Night” in his constituency. Uttarpara Trinamool MLA Kanchan Mallick asked whether the protesting government employees who are on strike will return their salaries to the state government. The Trinamool Congress also issued a statement announcing that it would not send a spokesperson to certain television channels because of “anti-Bengali agenda-driven propaganda”.
