Even as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leads protests demanding justice for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at R.G.Kar hospital, the Kolkata police are going on an arrest spree detaining demonstrators, including football fans from rival teams Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
Kolkata Police Arrests
On 18 August 2024, Kolkata police detained several individuals after football fans from rival teams Mohun Bagan and East Bengal organised a protest against the tragic incident. The Durand Cup derby between these teams, scheduled for that day, was cancelled following intelligence reports suggesting potential violence at Salt Lake Stadium, where fans had gathered.
Earlier in the day, the police had enforced Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) outside the stadium and detained the protesting fans. Despite the derby’s cancellation and the threat of police action, the fans rallied for justice, setting aside their sports rivalries for a common cause.
On 19 August 2024, a second-year B.Com student was arrested for allegedly posting a “provocative” social media message targeting the Chief Minister. The police claim the student incited hatred and criminal behaviour by encouraging others to assassinate the CM and by allegedly sharing the victim’s identity in Instagram stories related to the case. The student faces charges under BNSS sections 351 (2), 353(1), 352 for insulting and provoking a breach of peace, and sections 72 and 79 related to insulting modesty.
Additionally, Kolkata police issued notices to seven SFI-DYFI leaders to question them about their involvement in sharing information about the case. Another notice was sent to a doctor for allegedly spreading misinformation. All parties are required to appear on 19th August.
BJP Leaders Summoned
Allegedly, to curb the unlawful disclosure of the victim’s identity and misinformation, Kolkata Police summoned two prominent doctors and a senior BJP leader to their headquarters. Former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee and two renowned doctors, Dr Kunal Sarkar and Dr Subarna Goswami, have been summoned for allegedly spreading rumours and revealing the victim’s identity. In total, 57 individuals have been summoned for disseminating incorrect information about the case.
Eight days after the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, protests continue unabated. Doctors, opposition parties and ordinary citizens took to the streets to demand justice. The situation was further inflamed by vandalism at the hospital.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is leading the probe, visited the Kolkata Police’s fourth battalion barrack, where the accused, Sanjoy Roy, a civil police volunteer, was stationed on the day of the crime. Roy was arrested within 12 hours of the incident on 9th August. The CBI also conducted searches at Roy’s family home in Bhawanipore and engaged a team from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to perform a psychological evaluation of the accused. Additionally, the CBI questioned Sandip Kumar Ghosh, the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, for the second day.
Victim’s Family Distressed
The father of the deceased doctor expressed frustration, stating, “No results have come out of the inquiry that is being done. We hope we will get results… No one from the department or the college cooperated with us. The entire department is involved in this… There were three bodies at the crematorium, but our daughter’s body was cremated first…The CM is talking about providing justice, but then attempts are being made to put the common people demanding justice in jail. We are not satisfied with the CM. We have refused to take any compensation.”
#WATCH | North 24 Parganas, West Bengal: Father of deceased doctor in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-death case says, "No results have come out of the inquiry that is being done. We hope we will get results… No one from the department or the college cooperated… pic.twitter.com/hyZwblJO7b
— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2024
The mother of the victim recounted the distressing events, saying, “First we got a call from the hospital that your daughter is sick, then the call was disconnected. After that when I called and asked what happened, they told me to come to the hospital. When we called again, the (caller) identified himself as Assistant Super and said your daughter has committed suicide. She went to duty on Thursday, we got this call on Friday at 10:53am. When we reached there, we were not allowed to see her, we were allowed to see her at 3 o’clock. Her pants were open, there was only one piece of cloth on her body. Her hand was broken, blood was coming out of her eyes, mouth. Just by looking at her, it seemed that someone had murdered her. I told them it is not suicide, it’s a murder. We worked so hard to make our daughter a doctor but she was murdered.”
She criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s response, noting, “She (Mamata Banerjee) said that the culprit will be arrested as soon as possible, but nothing has happened so far. One person has been arrested. I am sure many more are involved in this incident. I think the entire department is responsible for the incident… The police did not do a good job at all. I feel that the Chief Minister is trying to stop the protest, today she imposed Section 144 here so that people cannot protest.” On the CP, she says, “They did not cooperate with us at all, they only tried to hush up the case as soon as possible. Their attempt was to get the post-mortem done as soon as possible and remove the body.”
#WATCH | North 24 Parganas, West Bengal: Mother of deceased doctor in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-death case says, "First we got a call from the hospital that your daughter is sick, then the call was disconnected. After that when I called and asked what happened,… pic.twitter.com/xitp65iH5F
— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2024
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