 "Doctors and health workers light candles depicting \"We Want Justice\" at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor inside the hospital premises, in Kolkata, Wednesday, September 4, 2024. PTI")
In recent weeks, there have been growing calls for justice for the trainee doctor from Kolkata who was raped and murdered at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Family members of the doctor have now joined the protesting medics, accusing the Kolkata Police of attempting to suppress the incident as they cremated their daughter’s body in a hurry.
They have also alleged that the police offered them a bribe to withdraw the case.
The allegations
Participating in the protests at the RG Kar Medical Hospital, where the body of their daughter was recovered on August 9, the parents demanded justice and accused a senior police officer of trying to bribe them after the incident came to light.
The father of the deceased doctor told PTI, “The police, from the very beginning, tried to hush up the case. We were not allowed to see the body and had to wait at the police station while the body was taken for post-mortem examinations.”
“Later, when the body was handed over to us, a senior police official offered us money, which we immediately declined,” he added.
BJP leader Amit Malviya provided the information regarding the father’s claims and a video of the mourning father and one of her relatives recounting the experience. He tweeted that DC North was the one who allegedly gave the father money in exchange for the father dropping the case.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe 31-year-old trainee doctor’s body was discovered in the seminar hall at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 in a partially naked state.
The primary accused, Sanjay Roy, was taken into custody by the Kolkata Police a day after the incident when he was captured on CCTV entering the premises at the estimated time of the crime. His wireless headphones were discovered close to the site of the incident.
Preliminary investigations revealed that after severely hurting and sexually assaulting the doctor, Roy killed the victim by throttling and smothering her.
Protests over the case
Since August 10, protests have erupted across the state, with people from various sectors demanding justice for the victim.
As part of the “Reclaim the Night” campaign, thousands of women protested through the streets on Wednesday night. In a singular and powerful display of civic unity, people in Kolkata took to the streets at about 9.00 pm, putting out their candles and shutting off the lights for an hour. The parents of the victim also joined the protest to support the junior doctors fighting for justice for their daughter.
A group of junior doctors in Kolkata demanded resignation from City Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal on Tuesday in response to alleged case-related errors and presented him with a handmade prosthetic spine. The purpose of the outrage was to demand that the police “grow a backbone.”
In the meantime, junior doctors at West Bengal’s state-run hospitals continued the casework on Wednesday in protest, with most facilities still having severely limited medical services, according to Hindustan Times.
CBI investigation
The case was initially investigated by the Kolkata Police.
However, several lapses on the part of the West Bengal administration sparked massive furore across the country, prompting the Calcutta High Court to hand the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation in the second week of August.
On Monday, the central agency arrested the former principal of RG Kar Medical College, Dr Sandip Ghosh , in connection with the alleged financial misconduct at the establishment.
On the other hand, the CBI also submitted its status report to the Supreme Court in a suo motu case of the incident. In its status report, the CBI claimed the crime scene might have been tampered with. It also brought to light inconsistencies in the way the West Bengal Police handled the case, first telling the victim’s parents it was a suicide before changing their statement to say it was a murder.
Another significant problem revealed by the report is the apparent delay from the time the body was discovered in the hospital’s seminar room early on August 9 and the notification of the local police of the occurrence.
The anti-rape bill
On Tuesday, the West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 , in the State Legislative Assembly, aiming to create a “safer environment for women and children.”
Speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “Rape is a now a national shame. Let us come together for social reform which is needed to prevent rapes.”
The draft bill proposes to amend the newly passed Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 laws and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 “in their application to the state of West Bengal to enhance punishment and to constitute the framework for expeditious investigation and trial of the heinous act of violence against women and children”.
The legislation proposes capital punishment for persons convicted of rape if their actions result in the victim’s death or cause her to become vegetative. Moreover, the draft states that persons convicted of rape and gang rape would receive a life sentence lasting for the rest of their natural lives.
With inputs from agencies