Kolkata (West Bengal):

The parents of the victim in Kolkata’s RG Kar rape and murder have met West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, requesting the governor to take up their grievances with President Droupadi Murmu and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

“On 30.01.2025 the parents of the R.G.Kar Medical College and Hospital victim called on HG and submitted a representation. The parents narrated their grievances and pleaded for justice,” West Bengal Raj Bhavan Media Cell posted on X.

“They requested HG to take up their case with the Hon’ble President of India and the Hon’ble Union Home Minister to whom they have already submitted their representations. HG agreed to do the needful. HG assuaged their feelings and indicated that they were not alone in their grief and that humanity stands with them. Justice shall prevail. Officer on Special Duty.”

Meanwhile, the parents withdrew their plea before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking a fresh investigation into the incident.

The plea was filed by the victim’s parents as an Intervention Application (IA) in the suo motu case, which had been registered by the top court in August last year, a few days after the infamous incident took place.

When the case was heard on Thursday, a Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar asked Senior Advocate Karuna Nundy whether the Court should proceed with the case, as a plea regarding similar issues had already been filed before the Calcutta High Court.

After considering the submissions made in the affidavit filed before it, the Court warned the senior counsel to be cautious with her arguments, as there is already a conviction against the sole accused (now convict) Sanjoy Roy in the case. The Court suggested that Nundy withdraw the plea and file a fresh one, noting that the original plea had been filed by the victim’s parents before the trial and conviction.

Following a brief exchange, the senior lawyer withdrew the plea, with the liberty to file a fresh one as per the Court’s order. On January 20, a Sealdah Civil and Criminal Court convicted and sentenced Sanjoy Roy to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of the victim in the RG Kar rape and murder case.

After the trial court’s decision, there has been an uproar, especially among doctors and medical workers, who are calling for Roy to be awarded the death penalty for his gruesome act. There are also calls for reinvestigation into the matter, as concerns have been raised regarding the manner in which the investigation was conducted.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Welcoming the conviction of prime accused Sanjay Roy by a trial court here in the RG Kar Medical College rape-murder case, the mother of the woman doctor on Saturday said they were still waiting for the other criminals to be arrested and punished.

“That Sanjay is guilty was proved through biological evidence. And that he stood silent during the trials in the court also proved his hand in torturing and killing my daughter. But he was not alone, there are others who haven’t been arrested yet. So, justice hasn’t been delivered,” the victim’s mother told PTI soon after the court convicted Roy.

She said she and her husband would continue their fight for justice till the last day of their lives.

“The case is not complete. It will only be completed after the others who were involved in killing our daughter are punished. We will wait for that day… Till that day, we will not be able to sleep. That is the only thing we want now,” she said.

The Sealdah court pronounced accused Roy “guilty” of rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The court will declare his sentence on Monday, Anirban Das, the additional district and sessions judge, said.

The judgment was pronounced nearly two months after the in-camera trial commenced in November last year and 162 days after the heinous crime was committed on August 9, 2024.

Sanjay Roy was found guilty under Sections 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that governs rape, and Sections 66 and 103 (1) of the Act, which deals with punishments for death and murder.

Section 103 (1) of BNS entails a maximum punishment of death or life imprisonment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

North 24 Parganas (West Bengal):

As the Sealdah Civil and Criminal Court is set to announce the verdict of RG Kar’s rape-murder case today, the father of the deceased doctor said on Saturday that whatever punishment is appropriate will be decided by the court.

Speaking to ANI, he asserted that they will continue to knock on the door of the court until they get justice in the case.

“Not just one, but the DNA report shows the presence of four boys and one girl. We will feel some relief when the accused are punished. Until we get justice, we will keep knocking on the doors of the court and will also seek the support of the people of the country,” the father said.

He also alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation has done nothing in the matter.

“The CBI has done nothing in this matter. There is no question of satisfaction here. We have raised several questions before the High Court and the Supreme Court. We have sought answers from the court itself. We did not seek answers from the CBI, but the court assigned all responsibility to the CBI,” he said.

“In two months, the court reviewed all the evidence, and whatever punishment is appropriate will be decided by the court,” the father of RG Kar victim added.

He also mentioned that they have written letters to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, and the Law Minister, but have not received any response from any of them.

The case, which involves the rape and murder of a trainee doctor whose body was found on August 9 in the hospital’s seminar room, sparked widespread protests. After the incident, Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer at the hospital, was arrested in connection with the crime.

In November last year, the CBI filed a chargesheet concerning financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The chargesheet named Sandip Ghosh and others, including Dr. Ashish Kumar Pandey, Biplab Singha, Suman Hazra, and Afsar Ali Khan, for their involvement in financial misconduct. This investigation was initiated following an order by the Calcutta High Court.

In addition to the corruption case, Sandip Ghosh faced questioning regarding the murder case. As part of the probe, the CBI conducted polygraph tests on him.

A delay in filing the chargesheet resulted in bail being granted to the accused, including Abhijit Mondal and Sandip Ghosh.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

A local court verdict on the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital is scheduled today. Civic volunteer Sanjay Roy is the key accused in the case that shook the nation and sparked protests.

Kolkata:

Agitating junior doctors on Tuesday staged a protest outside the CBI’s Salt Lake office here, accusing the agency of unnecessary delay in investigating the RG Kar case and collusion with the Kolkata Police to protect the criminals.

As part of their protest, the junior doctors symbolically locked the gate of the CBI office at the CGO Complex, demanding that the agency expedite the probe.

A confrontation took place when security personnel removed the symbolic lock from the gate, leading to a fight between the doctors and policemen deployed at the spot.

One of the protesting doctors expressed his frustration, saying, “We are losing hope in the way the CBI is handling the investigation. If this continues, it would be better if they shut down their office in Kolkata.” Another doctor added, “Even after so many days, our sister ‘Abhaya’ has not received justice. The CBI detectives are working with Kolkata Police to protect the perpetrators. We don’t want this type of CBI.” Meanwhile, representatives from the Abhaya Mancha and the Joint Platform of Doctors continued their protest at Dorina Crossing in central Kolkata’s Esplanade area, demanding speedy justice for the doctor.

Around 8 pm, they lit candles near their make-shift stage as part of their ‘Droher Alo Jalan’ initiative. The protesters were also joined by a good number of people from different parts of the city.

“We would like to extend our protest demonstration till December 31. We shall again move the court seeking permission for that,” one of the agitating senior doctors said.

The agitators also formed a human chain at the Dorina Crossing.

The Calcutta High Court on Monday upheld a December 20 order allowing doctors to hold demonstrations.

The state had challenged the single bench order by Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, which permitted the Joint Forum of Doctors to stage a sit-in “50 feet away from Dorina Crossing at Esplanade in central Kolkata from December 20-26.” Police had discovered the body of the woman doctor inside the RG Kar hospital on August 9.

The CBI has since filed a chargesheet against the prime accused, Sanjay Roy, for the rape-murder of the on-duty doctor.

According to the chargesheet, Roy, a civic volunteer with the local police, allegedly committed the crime when the victim was resting in the hospital’s seminar room during a break.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged torture of two women, who were arrested in September during protests against the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

The top court passed the order dismissing Calcutta High Court’s order directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the case.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said that not everything could be transferred to the CBI.

The top court also said that senior IPS officers of the state need to be entrusted with the investigation.

The top court said that the SIT, which will comprise senior officers – whose names were submitted by the West Bengal government – would submit a report on the progress of the investigation on a weekly basis to the Calcutta High Court.

“We request the Chief Justice of the High Court to constitute a bench before which the SIT will submit its report…The SIT should investigate without being influenced by the previous comments of the High Court. The victim can immediately contact the SIT,” the Bench said.

The case concerns two women, Rebeka Khatun Molla and Rama Das, who were arrested during the protests outside RG Kar Hospital earlier this year and released a day later.

Shortly after their release, the women moved a plea before the High Court alleging they were “physically tortured” while in police custody. In court, a jail doctor noted that there were signs of hematoma (a solid swelling of clotted blood within tissue) in one of the legs of one of the women, however, an examining doctor of Diamond Harbour Medical College and Hospital said that they witnessed no external injury.

The women also claimed that they were “unnecessarily” arrested on the charges that they “instigated” another protestor to make comments against TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee’s daughter.

On November 6, a division bench of the high court upheld a single-judge order directing a CBI probe into the allegations levelled by the women. However, on November 11, the top court had stayed the order.

Kolkata:

The protesting junior doctors of Bengal have withdrawn their indefinite hunger strike after a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee this evening. Announcing the end to the “fast-unto-death” in Kolkata, they also called off their proposed strike across hospitals due on Tuesday.

Debashish Halder, one of the junior doctors, said, “In today’s meeting (with the CM), we did get the assurance of some directives, but the body language of the state government was not positive”.

“The common people have wholeheartedly supported us. They, as well as the parents of our deceased sister (RG Kar hospital victim), have been requesting us to call off the hunger strike, keeping in mind our deteriorating health… We are therefore withdrawing our ‘fast-unto-death’ and also Tuesday’s total shutdown in the health sector,” he said.

The doctors have been protesting since August following the horrific rape-murder of a 31-year-old doctor at RG Kar Medical College and hospital. The protest – which initially involved a 50-day cease work — escalated to an indefinite hunger strike on October 5, flagging a 10-point demand that remained un-met even after a meeting with the Chief Minister. 

Besides justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim, their demands include the immediate removal of Health Secretary N S Nigam, improved workplace security, essential infrastructure like on-call rooms, CCTV, and proper washrooms, a centralised hospital referral system and bed vacancy monitoring system.

In the two-hour meet with the Chief Minister at the state secretariat Nabanna that was live-streamed, the biggest differences cropped up over two of the demands — removal of state Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam and the recent suspension of 47 doctors of RG Kar hospital who were accused of creating an air of “threat culture”. 

On the removal of the Health Secretary, which the Chief Minister had refused earlier as well, the doctors had said they had some documents to back the allegations of irregularities against NS Nigam. The Chief Minister had pointed out that no one can be called an “accused” just on the basis of allegations.

Sandipta Chakraborty, the representative in the delegation from N.R.S. Medical College & Hospital, however countered the Chief Minister. “Anyone against whom there are complaints of irregularities can be grammatically termed as ‘accused’. That same person can be termed as ‘guilty’ if his guilt is proved,” she was quoted as saying by news agency IANS. 

The 15-day hunger strike had seen many of the participating doctors fall ill and need medical attention. But their spot was immediately filled by other volunteers.

The face-off had continued through the state’s biggest festival, Durga puja, and reached its lowest point when nine people — doctors and others — were detained for shouting “We want justice” slogans at a pandal. Days before the police had stopped the proposed “Abhaya Parikrama” rallies by doctors — meant to spread awareness about their protest — at puja pandals.

Kolkata:

Protesting junior doctors in Kolkata launched their ‘Droher Carnival’ (carnival of protest) today from city centre Esplanade – a short distance from the Red Road where the state government was hosting the Durga Puja Carnival. 

The puja carnival, showcasing award-winning idols, has been a high-point of the city’s festive landscape since 2016. But today, most footfalls were at the adjacent protest site, where the citizens decided to show support to the doctors who are holding an indefinite hunger strike. 

With several doctors indisposed, two more have joined their ranks. They are Rumelika Kumar from All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health and Spandan Chowdhury from Midnapore Medical College & Hospital. 

The total number of junior doctors on hunger strike is now seven.

The hunger strike had started on October 5, seeking justice for the young doctor raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital on August 9. 

So far, five of the doctors on hunger strike had to be hospitalised as their health deteriorated. 

The rally started shortly after the Calcutta High Court set aside prohibitory orders in areas near the Durga Puja Carnival on Red Road.

“Our protests on the issue have been going on for the last 66 days. Many of our fellow junior doctors are on hunger strike. We want to send the message to the state government and the Chief Minister that our protests on this issue will continue,” Spandan Chowdhury, one of the protesting doctors, was quoted as saying. 

Kolkata:

The continuing protests by the junior doctors of West Bengal against the ghastly rape and murder of a junior woman doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata in August this year are not in self-interest but in the larger public interest, Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) national President R.V. Asokan said on Friday.

“The junior doctors are protesting against the rampant corruption in the healthcare system. They are speaking against the lack of safety at their workplaces which are hospitals. They are not carrying their protests out of self-interest… Their protests are in the larger public interest. They have really touched my heart. I want to say that IMA is beside them,” R.V. Asokan said after reaching the dais at Esplanade in central Kolkata where six junior doctors are continuing their fast-unto-death protests in support of their demands on the issue.

However, at the same time, R.V. Asokan requested the fasting doctors to withdraw their agitation.

“Life comes first. Do not adopt the extreme step,” he was heard appealing to the doctors on hunger strike.

Already Aniket Mahato, one of the seven junior doctors who were conducting the fast-unto-death agitation, had been admitted at R.G. Kar after Thursday midnight after his medical conditions deteriorated sharply. The panel of doctors attending him had claimed that although his condition had slightly improved from what it was on Thursday, he was yet to be out of the crisis.

Meanwhile, the medical conditions of the remaining six junior doctors who are continuing their hunger, namely Tanaya Panja, Snigdha Hazra, Sayantani Ghosh Hazra, Anushtup Mukhopadhyay, Arnab Mukhopadhyay, and Pulastya Acharya, too have started showing deteriorations. While ketone bodies have been detected in their urine, their blood pressure levels have started fluctuating and pulse rates are high.

“Even Aniket initially refused to get admitted to the hospital last night. But we somehow convinced him. The state government can choose to act in an inhuman manner. But we have the responsibility towards our colleague,” said Debasish Halder, one of the principal faces of the junior doctors’ movement on this issue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata’s protesting doctors’ plan to distribute leaflets at pandals during the ongoing Durga Puja was vetoed by the police over concerns about crowd management. The police contend that the sensitive issue could upset people and lead to a law and order issue in the festive season. 

The doctors, a section of whom are on a hunger strike, wanted to reach out to the people and spread awareness about their demands from the state government. The protesters have been called to the state secretariat tonight for another round of discussion.

The escalation in doctors’ protest comes days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met them and accepted most of their demands. 

The junior doctors have been on hunger strike since Saturday demanding justice for the 31-year-old doctor raped and murdered at the hospital premises on August 9.

They also want a clean-upo of the system — an alleged corruption-threat syndicate — and the formation of a  patient-friendly system and campus democracy.

Their other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, implementation of a bed vacancy monitoring system, and the formation of task forces to ensure essential provisions for CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms at their workplaces. 

They are also demanding increased police protection in hospitals, recruitment of permanent women police personnel, and swift filling of vacant positions for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.

After four days of the junior doctors’ hunger strike, 50 senior doctors resigned yesterday in a show of support.