West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Demands Swift Justice in RG Kar Rape-Murder Case

Amid ongoing protests over the RG Kar rape-murder case, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) expedite the process and ensure the hanging of the guilty by Sunday, August 18. She also urged the completion of the entire probe by the same date.

“Within Sunday (18th August), CBI has to facilitate the hanging of the guilty and complete the entire probe. Our Kolkata Police has completed 90 per cent of the probe,” CM Banerjee said.

Advocating capital punishment for the rapist, Banerjee announced a series of protest events scheduled from August 17 to 19. “On 17th August, there will be a protest march in all the blocks demanding the punishment of the criminal. On 18th August, there will be a demonstration in all the blocks and on 19th August, on the day of Raksha Bandhan, a programme to demand capital punishment of the guilty will be marked,” she said.

The incident that took place on August 9 has sparked widespread outrage and led to protests within and beyond the medical community. Union Minister and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar criticized the silence of TMC women MPs and alleged that a particular TMC MP’s nephew’s name keeps coming up in this case.

“In the doctor’s team, many such topics have come up in their WhatsApp group, some screenshots of this have also reached us like drugs, racket, sex racket…One TMC MP’s nephew’s name keeps coming up repeatedly. I don’t know what the truth is, but something seems off because despite so many women MPs from TMC, not a single one has spoken much after such a major incident. Two TMC MPs and three MLAs are alumni of the same medical college, yet they seem to have been silenced, indicating that something is amiss,” Majumdar said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose termed the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as a “horrible tragedy,” and stated that the state government led by Mamata Banerjee has to take responsibility for maintaining law and order. He emphasized that such atrocities against women are not new and called for unified action to address these issues.

“The horrible tragedy which took place in RG Kar Hospital should shake our conscience. A shame to the entire Bengal, a shame to India, a shame to humanity. This is not the first time. In the recent past, we saw the atrocities on women on the streets, the disrobing of a woman on the street, flogging on the street, public flogging. All these are repeatedly happening in the state of Bengal,” Bose said.

In a strong display of support, doctors across the nation continue to protest over the murder and alleged sexual assault of a post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctor, demanding justice for the victim. The protests took place in Kolkata, Guwahati, Hyderabad, and Mumbai on Wednesday. Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as “Justice needs to be served”, “No duty without security”, and “Justice delayed is Justice denied”.

Earlier today, teams from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) arrived at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata to investigate the rape and murder of a female trainee doctor. Following the Calcutta High Court order, CBI has taken over the case and has sent specialized medical and forensic teams from Delhi.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal Police brought Sanjoy Roy, the alleged accused in the rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctor, to the Central Government Offices (CGO) Complex in Kolkata on Wednesday. The OPD services of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital continue to remain closed on Wednesday as junior doctors while the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) is continuing its nationwide shutdown of OPD services over the incident.

The post-graduate trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. The victim’s family has alleged that she was raped and murdered.