Medic's Rape-Murder: SC to Hear RG Kar Hospital Incident Case Today

PTI, NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 8, 2024: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday the case related to the murder and alleged rape of a junior doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. According to the cause list uploaded on the apex court's website, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is slated to hear the case on September 9. The case was initiated by the top court on its own.

The Centre recently filed an application in the apex court, alleging "unpardonable" non-cooperation by the West Bengal government in extending logistical support to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which was tasked with providing security at the hospital. In its application, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs described the alleged non-cooperation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government as an example "symptomatic of a systemic malaise" and sought a direction to the state authorities to extend full cooperation to the CISF. In case of failure to do so, the Centre has urged the apex court to initiate contempt proceedings against the state government officials concerned for "wilful non-compliance" of the court orders.

While hearing the matter on August 22, the top court criticized the Kolkata Police over the delay in registering the unnatural death of the doctor. Making an impassioned appeal to the protesting doctors across the country, the apex court had also asked them to get back to work, saying "justice and medicine" cannot be stopped. Moreover, it said it was issuing all necessary directions to ensure their safety. On August 20, the apex court termed the rape and murder of the doctor as "horrific" and issued a slew of directions, including setting up a 10-member National Task Force to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.

The murder and rape of the junior doctor inside a seminar hall of the state-run hospital sparked nationwide protests. The medic's body, with severe injury marks, was found inside the seminar hall of the hospital's chest department on August 9. A civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata Police in connection with the case the following day. On August 13, the Calcutta High Court transferred the probe from Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which started its investigation on August 14.

Meanwhile, people from all walks of life—including former students of several educational institutions, clay modelers, rickshaw pullers, and junior doctors—separately took to the streets of Kolkata on Sunday in continued protest over the rape and murder of the medic in a state-run hospital a month ago. Demanding the arrest of all culprits in the case, the mother of the post-graduate trainee, whose body was found in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, said she had one child, and now all the protesting medics are her children.

In south Kolkata, around 4,000 former students of over 40 schools, a large number of them women, walked a distance of 2 km, demanding justice for the victim. The former students of various ages chanted "We Want Justice" as they walked along Rash Behari Avenue to the crossing of Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Road from Gariahat. Ex-students of institutes like Binodini Girls School, Mitra Institution, Garfa High School, Carmel High School, and St. John's Diocesan took part in the procession, singing the iconic composition of rebel poet Kaji Nazrul Islam: "Karar oi louhokopat, bhenge phel kore lopat” (Destroy the iron gates of prison). A key organizer, Garima Ghosh, said, "Apart from the main demand—punishment for all those involved in the brutal attack-murder of Abhaya (the symbolic name of the victim), we seek safety of women in all workplaces."

In another rally from the potters' hub of Kumartuli in north Kolkata, clay modelers took out a rally along Rabindra Sarani to Shyambazar five-point crossing, with a girl dressed as Goddess Durga leading the procession. Singing Arijit Singh's song 'Aar Kabe' (How Long) in solidarity with sexually violated women, the protesters held aloft placards demanding a speedy investigation and justice in the RG Kar murder-rape incident. Sculptor Sanatan Dinda and singer Lagnajita were also part of the procession. "One month has passed, but the fire within us will rage on till the culprits are flushed out," Dinda said. Lagnajita, a known face of the movement, said, "We will not rest till our sister gets justice. We will peacefully protest even if it lasts for months."

Around 100 people with their hand-pulled rickshaws also rallied from Hedua Park to College Square in north Kolkata. "We demand justice for Abhaya—who is our daughter," said Rameshwar Shaw, a rickshaw puller originally from Darbhanga in Bihar. Hundreds of junior doctors of the state-run NRS Hospital took out a rally from Sealdah to Esplanade in the heart of the city. The parents of the murdered doctor were present at the spot in Esplanade where the rally culminated. The victim’s mother said, “Whenever I think about the torment, the pain experienced by my daughter on that night, I shudder. She had dreams to serve society. Now, all these protesters are all my children."

At Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata, several members of the Bengali entertainment industry sat on a dharna demanding justice for the deceased medic. They came to the spot in a procession from Tollygunge to Hazra, a distance of over 2 km. Protest rallies were also held in several other places in West Bengal.