Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case Live Updates: 19 arrested for RG Kar hospital vandalism, cops release pics of suspects, IMA calls 24-hour nationwide medical shutdown कोलकाता डॉक्टर रेप और मर्डर केस
Bengal is bracing for a tense Friday with a potential shutdown on the horizon, as CM Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and opposition parties BJP and CPM plan separate protests focused on RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The recent rape and murder of a postgraduate resident doctor on August 9 has triggered national outrage. So far, Kolkata police have arrested 19 people in connection with the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital, while the IMA has announced a 24-hour closure of non-emergency services. Stay updated with TOI for the latest developments.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose visited RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Thursday to assess the situation after a recent act of vandalism by unidentified individuals.
During his visit, the Governor engaged with junior doctors who were demonstrating in response to the incident, which occurred shortly after the discovery of the body of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the facility last week.
“I am with you and we will work together to solve this,” Governor Bose assured the students. “I promise you justice. My ears and eyes are open,” he added, expressing his commitment to addressing the concerns raised by the medical community.
A violent mob attacked the hospital on Wednesday night and vandalised the emergency ward and other parts of the hospital. This led the protesters to withdraw their protest to ensure the safety of the protesting female doctors. The police had to use tear gas to disperse the mob.
#Kolkata | Violence erupts at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital at the ‘Reclaim the Night’ march. Video Credit: @Shrabanawrites pic.twitter.com/lQTpTj185R
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) August 14, 2024
Thousands of women from all walks of life hit the streets across West Bengal at the stroke of midnight today, protesting the horrific rape-murder of a doctor on duty at a Kolkata hospital last week.
Spurred by the ‘Reclaim the Night’ campaign, which gained momentum through social media, the protests began at 11:55 p.m., aligning with Independence Day celebrations, and spread across key areas in both small towns and big cities, including several landmarks in Kolkata. However, the protests were marked by violence in some areas.
Concerning the incident, here are the top 10 developments as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case:
- Accused and Crime: Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer, was taken into custody by the CBI for the murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, whose body was discovered last Friday.
- CBI Investigation: The CBI is conducting a thorough investigation, including a medical examination of Roy and a three-pronged strategy focusing on the crime scene, court presentation, and coordination with Kolkata Police, according to NDTV.
- Forensic Evidence: The CBI’s Special Crime Unit is examining the seminar hall for forensic evidence, such as fingerprints, footprints, hair, and semen, to establish a connection between Roy and the murder.
- Allegations of Gang-Rape: The victim’s parents have alleged that their daughter was gang-raped, supported by forensic evidence indicating 150 mg of semen found in her body- which is indicative of the fact that this is not the deed of just one person, pointing towards a gang rape.
- Timeline of Events: The autopsy report indicates the trainee doctor suffered multiple injuries and was smothered to death, with a time of death estimated between 3 and 5 am on the day of the incident.
- Initial Misreporting: The Calcutta High Court is investigating why the murder was initially reported as a suicide and why police involvement occurred later.
- Ongoing Doctor Protests: Striking doctors are demanding a Central Healthcare Protection Act to enhance safety measures for medical personnel amidst concerns about rising violence against them. Despite the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Associations FORDA calling off the strike, various medical organisations, including the resident doctors’ association at AIIMS Delhi, continue protesting against inadequate protective measures.
- Pressure for Arrests: The parents’ petition claims that no arrests have been made for potential accomplices, emphasising the complexity of the crime that likely involved more than one perpetrator.
- Legislative Demands: While 19 states have enacted laws protecting doctors, the striking medical professionals call for uniform national legislation to ensure consistent protection across India.
- The principal accused of ‘victim blaming’: Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former head of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was asked to go on leave after concerns were raised over his leadership and response during the case. Dr Ghosh faced backlash for comments perceived as victim-blaming and for failing to maintain adequate safety for staff, after which he resigned from his post. However, in a surprising turn of events, he was reinstated as Principal of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital just 24 hours later.
Tens of thousands of women in West Bengal state marched through the streets on Wednesday night in protest against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a state-run hospital in Kolkata last week.
The Reclaim the Night march was the culmination of nearly a week of frenzied protests ignited by the brutal killing of the 31-year-old at the RG Kar Medical College last Friday.
After a gruelling 36-hour shift, she had fallen asleep in a seminar room due to the lack of a designated rest area.
The next morning, her colleagues discovered her half-naked body on the podium, bearing extensive injuries. A hospital volunteer worker has been arrested in connection with the crime.
Responding to calls on social media, women from all walks of life marched across Kolkata city and throughout the state on a rainy Wednesday night.
Though protests were largely peaceful, they were marred by clashes between the police and a small group of unidentified men who barged into the RG Kar Hospital, the site of the doctor’s murder, and ransacked the emergency department.
Police fired tear gas to disperse the unruly crowd. Some police vehicles were also damaged.
Smaller protests were also held in many other Indian cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.
In Kolkata, women marched resolutely, holding placards of protest, their faces illuminated by the glow of mobile phones, candlelight and flaming torches. Some carried India’s flags. They were joined by men, both young and elderly.
During the marches and at many gatherings near a university, theatre hall and bus terminus, they stood united, holding hands as the humid air echoed with loud and powerful chants of “we want justice”. Protesters blew conch shells – the sound is considered auspicious.
At the stroke of midnight, as India completed 77 years of Independence, the soundscape of protest changed.
The air filled with a spontaneous chorus of the national anthem. Then it began raining, but the protesters walked in the rain, or holding umbrellas over their head.
“We have never seen anything like this before in the city, such a huge gathering of women marching at night,” a reporter belonging to a news network said.
It was a night of barely concealed rage and frustration.
A woman, who joined the march well after midnight with her 13-year-old daughter said: “Let her see whether a mass protest can set things right. Let her become aware of her rights”.
“Women have no respect!” said another. “Our worth is less than cows and goats.”
“When do we get our independence? How long do we have to wait to work without fear? Another 50 years?” asked a student.
Sanchari Mukherjee, editor of a digital magazine, said she marched with thousands of others from a bus terminus in Jadavpur, undeterred by the rain.
She met “people of all ages, from all classes, the well-to-do, the middle class and the poor”.
“I saw an elderly couple, the husband helping the woman to walk,” she said.
“One family brought their little girl along, perhaps so the memory of this event would be etched in her mind – how her parents stood up against injustice, and how she, too, can protest one day.”
Ms Mukherjee said the entire city seemed awake as the marchers passed by illuminated homes, with people peering out of windows and crowding verandahs to watch.
“They may not have participated but they were with us in spirit,” she said.
Despite scant resources, Kolkata’s Reclaim the Night march appeared to have been meticulously organised. In an advisory, organisers welcomed women and people from marginalised sexual and gender identities to the march.
“Men are welcome as allies and observers,” the advisory added.
They also emphasised that politicians were not welcome and requested that no party flags be brought to the protest.
It was not the first time that a Reclaim the Night march has been staged in India.
Inspired by similar marches elsewhere in the world by women to assert their rights to walk in public areas without fear, a march was held in 1978 in Bombay (now Mumbai) in protest against the rape of a woman on the street.
Blank Noise, a community-based art project and activist collective, has organised several midnight walks in Delhi to encourage women to assert their right to walk freely at night.
But in terms of scale, the Kolkata march, echoed by smaller ones across other cities, stands as the largest yet.
“We seized the night. We’ve never seen anything like this in the city. This is unprecedented. I hope it wakes up the authorities,” said Chaitali Sen, a protester.
Twelve persons were detained on Thursday (August 15) for vandalism in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose said that the incident is a shame to civil society. “I am with you and we will work together to solve this. I assure you justice. My ears and eyes are open,” Mr. Bose told the students after visiting the hospital on Thursday afternoon.
The IMA also condemned the vandalism at the State-run medical college in Kolkata where doctors have been protesting the rape and murder of a woman medic, and called for an emergency meeting with its State branches to decide on the future course of action.
The incident took place amid midnight protests by women against the horrific rape-murder of the doctor at the hospital on August 9, 2024. A group of people, disguised as protestors, entered the hospital premises, vandalised property and pelted stones at policemen, they said.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) lashed out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government saying that the State government is directly responsible for this collapse of public order. BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the vandalism was carried out by “TMC goons” sent by party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
The body of the woman postgraduate trainee was found inside a seminar hall of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. A civic volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime.
A resident doctors’ federation announced to continue its protest in Delhi, a day after medics slammed it for calling off the agitation following the health ministry’s “verbal” assurance to meet its demands, including bringing a law to curb attacks on medical personnel.
Resident doctors across major government hospitals in Delhi, including AIIMS, VMMC-Safdarjung Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, shut down elective services on Monday morning and went on strike, demanding better security and safety measures for medical personnel, and the central law.
The announcement by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Associations (FORDA) came after Resident Doctors’ Associations (RDAs) of many hospitals on Wednesday accused it of taking the decision to end the protest without consulting them and “backstabbing” the medical fraternity.
Former chief of Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal has written a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to ensure severe punishment for the accused and also for those who are trying to save them.
”The inhuman atrocities inflicted upon this young woman have brought shame upon humanity and triggered widespread protests across the country. As someone who has long advocated for the protection of women’s rights, I have been following this case with close attention, and the more I learn, the deeper my revulsion grows,” Swati Maliwal wrote in a letter to the West Bengal CM.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front on Thursday demanded the resignation of CM Mamata Banerjee as West Bengal’s Health and Home minister over the violence at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Chief Minister Banerjee holds the Health and Home portfolios.
Communist Party of India leader Annie Raja on August 15 condemned the mob violence at the Kolkata hospital where a woman was brutally raped and murdered last week.
“We condemn such mob violence which took place last night. Who should have prevented that? Who is responsible for the law and order situation? It is the State government,” Annie Raja, the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) General Secretary told PTI.
Ms. Raja lamented that while political blame games take place after such incidents, no concrete action is taken to ensure safety of women. “Until and unless all political parties take it as a serious political issue, this can’t be addressed. Finally, who are the victims? Who are the sufferers? It is the women and the girls,” she said.
#WATCH | Junior doctors at Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital protest against the rape and murder of a woman resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. pic.twitter.com/6TJTCChccz
— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2024
A group of at least 20 doctors from various State-run medical establishments in Kolkata called on West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on August 15 and sought his intervention after unidentified miscreants vandalised a portion of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, an official said.
The doctors, mostly women, also told Mr. Bose that they were feeling insecure.
The vandalism took place amid midnight protests by women in various parts of the state against the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Hospital last week. –
Official sources said that West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose will be visiting the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital after it was vandalized by a mob on August 14 night. “We will take positive action, which will be acceptable to all. You will get justice,” said Mr. Bose to protesting doctors.
After an unidentified mob vandalised the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) issued a statement condemning the violence. The IMA has stated that such vandalism with impunity points to anarchy. The IMA lashed out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government saying that the state government is directly responsible for this collapse of public order.
“RG Kar Medical College which is at the centre of national attention for the past week due to the rape and murder of the Chest medicine PG student has been vandalised by hooligans. The protesting young medical students have been targeted. The authorities who by their negligence had allowed such a heinous crime to happen have once again failed to maintain law and order when the all-important CBI investigations are going on,” the IMA stated.
“Such vandalism with impunity points to anarchy and the breaking down of law and order. The state Government is directly responsible for this collapse of public order. IMA condemns this mindless violence and is apprehensive of the loss of crucial evidence. IMA has called for an emergency consultation meeting with all its state branches today to chart out further action,” the IMA added further.
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