Kolkata: The state of West Bengal, especially its capital city, saw unprecedented protests for more than two months demanding justice for a trainee doctor who was brutally raped and murdered while on duty at the state-run RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.
Though the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has accused Sanjoy Roy of rape and murder and filed a chargesheet, the central agency failed to issue a chargesheet against two others arrested in the case – former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh and ex-Tala police station OC Abhijit Mondal within 90 days. Consequently, the Sealdah sessions court granted interim bail to Ghosh and Mondal on Friday.
Though Ghosh remains behind bars as he faces separate charges of financial irregularities during his tenure at RG Kar between 2021 and 2024, he has got bail in the rape-murder case.
That was the trigger of fresh protests erupting on the streets of Kolkata. If common people had earlier targeted the state administration and RG Kar officials for multiple lapses in procedure and evidence tampering, post the female doctor’s death, their anger now is directed at the CBI, for paving the way for bail to Ghosh and Mondal.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), which had ceased work for more than two months with some doctors even sitting on a hunger strike to demand justice for their fellow-doctor, held a protest rally from Karunamoyee to the CBI office at Salt Lake’s CGO complex on Saturday.
#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal | Junior doctors, nurses and others stage a protest outside the CBI Office, against the bail granted to former Principal of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, Sandip Ghosh and Tala Police Station’s former Officer-in-charge, Abhijit Mondal. pic.twitter.com/J9afL5ohqJ
— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2024
“Today, men like Ghosh have been granted bail. Tomorrow, he may be reinstated in a reputed medical college. We will remain on the roads until we get justice. We had faith in the CBI, but what is the agency doing?” said Debasish Halder, a prominent face in the WBJDF.
The Joint Platform of Doctors, an umbrella body of various organisations, took out a rally from Esplanade and announced that doctors, health workers, and citizens from all walks of life will again hit the streets to renew their cry for justice.
“We are disappointed and angry… We will soon hit the streets in protest. We want to send a message to the state government and the federal agency that they need to do everything to ensure the girl gets justice,” said Dr Utpal Banerjee, a member of the Joint Platform of Doctors.
The Service Doctors’ Forum (SDF) sent a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking her intervention as solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the CBI in Supreme Court, told the Chief Justice of India’s bench on Tuesday that the state government had not granted its sanction for the central probe agency’s request for prosecution proceedings against Ghosh and Mondal.
“We urge you to ensure that all those involved in the horrific incident of rape and murder at RG Kar Medical College, as well as those who attempted to suppress evidence, are brought to justice swiftly,” the letter said.
Political parties also staged protest rallies. The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) and Congress staged demonstrations at various locations, including outside the Nizam Palace, where there is another CBI office.
The parents of the 31-year-old victim, who on Friday expressed utter disappointment with the way of CBI’s functioning, also took to the streets.
