West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose visits the emergency department of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Twelve days after the rape and murder of a doctor at the R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, there has been no let-up in the protests, with over a dozen rallies organised across Kolkata on Wednesday (August 21, 2024).
West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose visited the residence of the victim and met her family. The Governor left for the deceased doctor’s house straight from the airport after returning from New Delhi, where he met President Droupadi Murmu. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited the residence of the victim on August 12.
As political parties, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), hit the streets demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister, doctors marched to Swastha Bhawan, headquarters of the State Health Department. Among those protesting and bringing out processions were sports personalities, engineers and journalists.
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The entire BJP leadership of West Bengal, led by State president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, was present during the protests. Demanding the resignation of Ms. Banerjee, Mr. Adhikari said the family was pressurised by local Trinamool Congress leaders to say that they had faith in the Chief Minister.
The State BJP unit is holding a five-day demonstration at Shyambazar, about half a kilometre away from the college. “The Chief Minister should resign as soon as possible,” Mr. Majumdar said.
Along with the BJP, senior leaders of West Bengal Pradesh Congress held demonstrations outside Lalbazar police headquarters. Senior Congress leaders, including former State president Abdul Mannan and Pradip Bhattacharya, were stopped at Central Avenue near the police headquarters and detained.
ED probe sought
Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned Sanjib Kumar Ghosh, the former principal of the hospital, for the fifth consecutive day, former deputy superintendent of the hospital Akhtar Ali moved the Calcutta High Court demanding an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the alleged financial irregularities by the former principal.
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Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj granted permission to Mr. Ali to file the petition, seeking an order directing the ED to probe alleged financial irregularities against Dr. Ghosh. While Kolkata Police had arrested a civic police volunteer Sanjay Roy in connection with the crime, the former principal of the college has remained in the eye of the storm as several allegations have been raised against him. The West Bengal government has set up a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged financial irregularities and has booked the former principal on charges of graft.
The Trinamool Congress leadership has also raised questions about the CBI investigation in the case. “165+ HOURS, NO visible progress! How much longer will @CBIHeadquarters take to provide justice to the victim of the R.G. Kar tragedy?” the Trinamool posted on social media.
During the day, senior officials of the Central Industrial Security Force arrived at the medical college and held meetings with the police and hospital authorities on the deployment of central forces on the premises. The Supreme Court had directed the deployment of central forces at the college, which was vandalised by a mob on August 15.
In a related development, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy deleted the tweet where he had sought custodial interrogation of the Kolkata Police Commissioner. Mr. Roy was served notice by the city police and approached the High Court praying that no coercive action be taken against him.