Kolkata:

A bust to honour the junior doctor raped and killed at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital in August has triggered a row, with many supporting its installation but others, including ruling Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh, calling it “disgusting”, “disrespectful” to the woman’s memory, and “the worst thing ever”.

The fibreglass bust – titled ‘Abhaya: Cry of the Hour’ and installed at the hospital and made by sculptor Bhaskar Sai – shows a woman screaming in agony with her head thrown back and eyes wide open.

It was installed Wednesday morning after a protest march by junior doctors from various city medical colleges on the occasion of ‘Mahalaya‘. This is an auspicious day that normally falls a week before Durga Puja and marks the transition from the inauspicious ‘pitri paksha‘ to ‘devi paksha‘.

Doctors who have participated in the nearly two-month long protest against the horrific crime, demanding, among other things, increased security on hospital campuses, told reporters the bust “is not of the victim… but a symbol of pain and torture she went through… and the ongoing protests”.

Some welcomed the bust; one X user, @senktk1979, suggested it may be “required as we humans forget everything… (this will not) allow us to forget this incident” and another, @PaulRhakho, raged, “Don’t remove till justice is done… let the world know India is not safe for women…”

This is extremely disgusting and disrespectful.
Letting the Criminals walk free without any remorse and allegations on 1 hand
And putting this disgusting statue up on the other?
‘Cry of the hour’ my foot!

— DrHumorless (@DrHumorless) October 3, 2024

However, not everyone agrees.

Mr Ghosh posted on X that “the installation of this statue in the name of Tilottama (the sobriquet given to the murdered doctor) is against the spirit of the Supreme Court pronouncement”.

“No responsible person can do that… not even in the name of art. There will be protests and demands for justice but the statue with the girl’s face of pain is not right,” he said.

On his side of the fence, one X user said, “Our country is beyond repair.”

Our country is beyond repair

— Bhushan (@Shitpost_44) October 3, 2024

“Speechless at how insensitive this is… to have one’s pain immortalised, to only be known for being sexually violated… I hope this disgusting statue is destroyed,” another user said.

“I wish… The mob should attack this sculpture first. Shameful design. No one wants to see a sculpture of someone in pain… instead they could have created a sculpture in which Goddess Durga beheads the rapist as capital punishment for his mistake…” a third user raged.

Last month the Supreme Court ordered free online database Wikipedia to remove the name and photo of the doctor; the site had identified the doctor in an entry about the shocking RG Kar killing.

READ | Top Court Orders Wikipedia To Remove Kolkata Horror Victim’s Name

However, Indian laws do not permit release of rape victims and survivors’ identities, and a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud reminded owners Wikimedia Foundation of this fact, stating, “The identity of the victim should not be revealed in any way. Wikipedia should immediately remove photo and content revealing her identity,” the bench said, directing deletion from social media too.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday doctors protesting the RG Kar killing resumed their ‘indefinite’ strike, pressing, once again, for demands that include ensuring their safety at all hospitals and clinics in the state.

READ | “Compelled To…”: Bengal Doctors Resume Strike Over RG Kar Horror

They also criticised the “slow”-paced CBI investigation, saying, “We have seen many times before… CBI has been unable to reach conclusions and allows real culprits to go free due to delays…”

READ | Kolkata Rape Murder: Junior Doctors Resume Work After 42 Days

Ten days earlier the junior doctors had stood down their month-long agitation, after finally meeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and returned to provide essential and emergency services but not in outpatient departments. They had then given the state a week to fulfil their demands.

READ | Bengal Replaces Kolkata Police Chief, 2 Others On Doctors’ Demand

Ongoing CBI Investigation

The junior doctor was found dead in a seminar room of the hospital early August 9. The killing sparked furious protests and was compared to the Nirbhaya rape and murder in Delhi in December 2012.

The CBI, which took over the case after being ordered to by the Calcutta High Court, after it overruled a deadline for the police set by the Chief Minister, has arrested Dr Sandip Ghosh, who was the RG Kar Hospital chief at the time, before he resigned claiming “moral responsibility”.

READ | CBI’s Cover-Up Claims Against Ex Principal, Cop In Kolkata Horror

Ghosh has been arrested in connection with alleged financial irregularities in running the hospital, and has been subject to extensive interrogation and a lie-detector test. The CBI has also taken into custody a civilian volunteer with Kolkata Police – Sanjoy Roy – who is the prime accused.

The doctor’s killing has sparked a massive political squabble with the Trinamool and the Chief Minister under severe pressure from the opposition BJP and civil society activists.

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Taking a surprise step to end the impasse between her government and protesting doctors, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday visited the site where the medics are staging a sit-in and addressed them. 

The doctors have been protesting since a trainee doctor was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last month and began a sit-in outside Swasthya Bhavan, the headquarters of the West Bengal health department, on Tuesday. There have been moves for a discussion between the state government and the doctors since then but they have been getting stalled, most recently over the protestors’ demand for livestreaming of the talks. 

Ms Banerjee reached the protest site on Monday and struck a conciliatory tone, asking if she could address the doctors. Amid slogan-shouting she said in Bengali, “Please listen to me for five minutes and then shout slogans, it is your democratic right to do so. I have been waiting for a long time. Against the advice of my security officers, I have come here to salute your protests. I have also been part of student movements, I know my post is not a big deal, your voice is. It was raining all night and you suffered. I couldn’t sleep either because I was feeling bad.”

Acknowledging that the protests had been going on for over a month, she urged the protesting doctors to return to work, assuring them that the government would lend a sympathetic ear to their demands.

“I will study the demands, I don’t run the government alone. I will speak to the chief secretary, home secretary, director general of police. Action will be taken against those who are found guilty. I want justice for Tilottama (the name given to the woman who was raped and murdered). From your platform, I will request the CBI to speed up the investigation. I request you, I need some time to consider your demands. If you trust me, come and talk to me, I will look into your demands,” she assured the doctors. 

Urging the protesters to return to work, she said their families were worried about them and many patients had died because they did not get proper healthcare. 

“Return to work. I will ensure that no injustice happens. I will set up committees in every hospital which will have senior and junior doctors as members. Everyone found guilty will be punished, it is not like they are my friends (referring to the demand for the resignation of some officials). Please talk amongst yourselves and return to work, I will not take any action. In Uttar Pradesh, action was taken, I won’t do that. I know you work a lot, I know how important you are,” she said. 

“If you keep your faith in me, I will look into your complaints. The case is on in the Supreme Court (which had set a September 10 deadline for the doctors to return to work) and the next hearing is on Tuesday. I don’t want you to suffer. I have come to make a request as your ‘didi’ (big sister), not as a chief minister. I am empathetic and I support your protest… I had also gone on a hunger strike for 26 days (during the protest against the acquisition of farmland in Singur), but no one from the then government came to speak to me,” Ms Banerjee added. 

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| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

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A banner hung by junior doctors at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in protest against the alleged sexual assault and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the hospital, in Kolkata.
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The AI chatbot Grok on X is known for answering questions with humour [File]
| Photo Credit: AP

Elon Musk’s new AI chatbot Grok 2 mini (beta) generated a summary of the day’s headlines on X where it compared the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war as well as the Kolkata hospital rape and murder case to an episode of the hit TV show ‘Game of Thrones.’

It later compared the scenes from the Kolkata hospital to a ‘not-so-funny comedy.’

When asked what happened in the Kolkata hospital case, the Grok 2 mini (beta) chatbot called it “a saga that’s more twisted than a plotline from a Dickens novel, but with less happy endings,” before going on to name the murdered doctor, violating Indian laws that restrict the identification of victims of sexual violence.

A “fun” mode that is turned on by default meant the chatbot injected its response with humour; a Grok feature that X owner Musk has hailed in the past.

“The doctors, not ones to take this lying down (pun intended), went on strike, demanding better security and justice for their colleague,” said the new Grok chatbot, before talking about the main accused in the case and noting, “He was known for his charm with the ladies, but not in the way that gets you a reality TV show.”

When the chatbot’s “fun mode” was turned off, it generated a more serious and legally compliant summary of the Kolkata rape and murder case.

The new beta version of Grok also came under fire for the violent, explicit, fake, and illegal images it generated with the help of AI. These included political deepfakes, acts of violence against school children, and children’s characters going on killing sprees.

Police on Saturday (August 10, 2024) arrested the accused involved in the brutal sexual assault and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at a State-run hospital here, following which West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee vowed to seek death penalty for the perpetrator.

Her announcement came shortly after the accused, who was reportedly an outsider frequenting the hospital premises, was arrested and later remanded to 14-day police custody.

Also read | Murder of young doctor in hospital triggers shock and horror in Kolkata

The accused was charged under sections 64 (rape) and 103 (murder) of BNS and was produced before Sealdah court, which remanded him to police custody till August 23.

Ms. Banerjee, known for her stauch opposition to BJP seeking probe by central agencies in various corruption cases in Bengal, said her government would have no objections to a CBI probe if the students and family demand it.

“If they do not trust the West Bengal government, they can approach any investigating agency; we have no objection,” she said.

She also instructed officials to expedite the trial by moving it to a fast track court.

In a post on X, the Raj Bhavan said Governor CV Ananda Bose has asked the state government to take immediate action in the matter and submit a report.

“HG has asked the State Government to take immediate action in the matter and submit a report. HG is also taking up the matter with the Govt of India for appropriate action,” the post said.

The body of the woman doctor was found inside a seminar hall of the RG Kar Government Hospital in north Kolkata on Friday.

Preliminary autopsy reports indicated that she was sexually abused before being murdered.

The accused has been charged with rape and murder based on circumstantial evidence and testimonies from doctors who were present during night-duty hours, according to Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal.

“This is a heinous crime, and the arrested person is allegedly involved based on circumstantial evidence, including accounts of the other doctors present during night-duty hours,” Goyal told a press conference here.

Goyal said the force will ensure that the accused gets the maximum punishment if the charges are proved in court.

In response to the incident, junior doctors and students at various state-run hospitals, including RG Kar Medical College, National Medical College, and Medical College, Kolkata, held protest sit-ins and processions.

Similar protests also took place at district hospitals such as Bardhaman Medical College and Bankura Sammilani Medical College.

Maintaining that protests and processions by junior doctors demanding exemplary punishment for the accused and enhanced security at hospitals were justified, the Chief Minister urged the doctors to also carry on giving healthcare services to patients.

“I endorse the demands by the junior doctors,” she told a Bengali news channel.

The Chief Minister, who also oversees the Home and Health portfolios, announced that police camps have been set up at every hospital to prevent further assaults on doctors.

She emphasised that hospital superintendents and principals are responsible for maintaining internal security and assured that any negligence on their part will be investigated.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said people accused of such henious crimes should either be given “capital punishment or encounter” as they don’t deserve a place in society.

“The Centre should bring in an ordinance calling for immediate action against such culprits. This could be made into an amendment after six months,” he said.

The Bengal BJP should write to their leadership and demand a law that ensures speedy justice in rape and murder cases within seven days, he said.

Meanwhile, addressing protesters near the hospital, CPI(M) West Bengal state secretary Mohd Salim said, “the City of Joy has turned into a City of bhoy (fear). No one is safe under this Trinamool Congress government, the whole country is condemning the gruesome incident.” Demanding a CBI probe into the incident, Union Minister of State and BJP’s West Bengal State president Sukanta Majumdar told reporters, “the injury marks on the body of the woman doctor indicate this cannot be the handiwork of one person.”

Expressing surprise over spate of demonstrations over the incident, Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said, “There can be protests over such heinous crimes. That is perfectly understandable. But after the statement of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that a probe by any other agency is welcome, is there any necessity to continue the protests?”

A delegation of National Medicos Organisastion (NMO) West Bengal called on Governor C V Ananda Bose and submitted a representation expressing deep anguish over the incident. The deputation demanded proper security for those on duty, especially the women medical practitioners at night.