One Month On, RG Kar Case Ignites Unyielding Demand for Justice

Kolkata: Exactly a month to the day, the City of Joy was in turmoil. Recovery of the body of a young doctor-student from the seminar room of RG Kar shook everyone. The question of how a doctor on duty could be a victim of murder rape at her place of work, and the vociferous demands for justice is now burning across the country. The fire has spread to foreign shores.

The streets of Kolkata and many districts in West Bengal were captured by protesters. Within a night, the streets of the city of joy were packed with protesters. The slogan, ‘we want justice’ became ‘demand for justice’.

Kolkata police arrested a civic volunteer on the night the body was recovered. But the medical community did not want to accept that he alone was involved. The movement began. It was demanded that the remaining office-bearers, including the director of RG Kar, should be dismissed.

But Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made it clear that the government will not accept the resignation of principal Sandeep Ghosh under the pressure of the movement. Instead, she herself announced the transfer of Sandeep. As soon as the directive to transfer Sandeep to the National Medical College Hospital was issued, the fire of the movement was fueled.

On the other hand, various allegations against the police-administration began to surface. Five days after the retrieval of the body, the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI. Sandeep was sent on long leave. By that time, however, the flames of the movement of junior doctors had spread far and wide. Senior doctors and ordinary people joined in.

On the eve of Independence Day, more than one lakh people staged a huge protest with #reclaimthenight. But, on that day, the rampage of outsiders in RG Kar put the Kolkata police in the face of big questions.

Gradually, the RG Kar protest spread nationwide, and a month after the heinous incident, doctors and the general public just kept up their protests every day.

Nearly 26 cities from the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Germany joined the Indian movement.

TMC is also facing infighting. At first, Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendushekhar Roy raised his voice against the RG Kar case. But this is the first time a ruling party MP, Jawahar Sircar, has decided to resign.

But how far is the speed of the investigation in the murder-rape case?

After one month, the strike of junior doctors is going on. Due to this, complaints of suffering of patients in government hospitals have started multiplying. However, the general public is still rallying behind the doctors.

One of them told Deccan Chronicle, “We are accepting the suspension of juniors.”

However, the state health department claimed that senior teaching doctors are handling services.

Meanwhile, a protesting junior doctor, Sabit Hussain, said that they have already started ‘Abhaya Clinic’ from R.G. Kar to support the people; telemedicine services are running there every day. Health camps are held every Sunday at different places. Camps in the city were accompanied by ‘Janatar motamot, rajpothe adalot (public opinion, court in the streets)’. People have intensified their demand for severe punishment to all culprits involved in the macabre incident.