Kolkata:

West Bengal minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Swapan Debnath’s comment about women drinking during the mega protest in the state has sparked a huge controversy. A video is being circulated on social media in which the minister is heard saying that during the “Reclaim the night” protest in his area Purbasthali, a woman and two men were spotted sipping beer at a hotel.

“What if something untoward had happened to the woman? Our men had kept vigil at that time. But if they were not around?’ he purportedly said.

Urging parents to be more vigilant, he added, “Your daughter went for protest demanding safety for other women. But monitor what she is doing outside after midnight… Any untoward incident will make the state accountable. We are certainly responsible for the safety of women. But those out there also have a responsibility,” he added.

He also said he has requested the hotel owners in his area not to sell liquor to women after midnight.

The Trinamool has, however, distanced itself from the remarks of the minister, who handles the animal husbandry department.

“We cannot dictate any individual’s behaviour, man or woman. Whether she should have drinks or not or where she will go. We are not into moral policing,” said Trinamool leader Kumal Ghosh, underscoring that the party does not endorse such remarks. 

“But the underlying note of concern for the safety of a woman, which is apparent in the comment of Swapan Debnath, should not be overlooked at the same time. It is another matter whether he should have expressed his views in such a manner in the first place,” he was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India. 

The ruling Trinamool Congress has come under massive pressure following the rape-murder of a young doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital on August 9, which had triggered protests across the state and had ripple effect across the country.  The state government faced tough questions in the Supreme Court about the steps it has taken to strengthen security in medical colleges since.

The government’s knee-jerk reaction — that women not be put on night shifts — also drew severe reprimand from the court. “How can you say women cannot work at night? why limit women doctors? your duty is to provide security, you cannot say that women cannot work at night. Pilots, army etc. all work at night,” said Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.

Today, the state Chief Secretary issued an order to ensure women’s security in medical institutions. The note contained detailed instructions which included ensuring adequate availability of on-duty rooms, washrooms, CCTVs, deployment of police and security personnel which would include women, mobile police teams for surveillance at night, central helpline and panic buttons and alarms.  

The official has also ordered an audit of security at all state-run medical institutions.

The junior doctors of Bengal called off their massive protest over the rape-murder of a colleague at a Kolkata hospital and said they will join work from Saturday. But there was a caveat – they said they will not join OPD services or attend elected operations. These would be resumed once they are assured of the state government’s commitment to the safety issue, they said. The announcement came after the state had accepted most of their demands — and amid massive floods in south Bengal where health services have become a priority. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been on a tour of the flood-hit areas since yesterday. It was the Chief Secretary who attended the last meeting with the doctors on Wednesday and accepted their demands and suggestions regarding security. 

Earlier today, he wrote to the Principal Secretary, giving detailed instructions which included ensuring adequate availability of on-duty rooms, washrooms, CCTVs, deployment of police and security personnel which would include women, mobile police teams for surveillance at night, central helpline and panic buttons and alarms.  

The official has also ordered an audit of  security at all state-run medical institutions.

The doctors made it clear that this partial return to work is not by any means an end to their agitation. “If needed, we will begin ceasework again,” said a representative of the junior doctors. The legal battle will also continue, as would their demand for a quick resolution of the rape-murder of a 31-year-old doctor that is at the heart of the protest. 

The end of this phase of protest will be marked by a march from the protest site to the CGO Complex, where the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation is located. 

The resolution of the 41-day impasse with the state government was set in motion on Monday, with the doctors sitting face-to-face with the Chief Minister after three failed attempts. 

Ms Banerjee had immediately announced the removal of Kolkata police chief Vineet Goyal and two top officials of the health department. The doctors, though, are still pushing for the removal of the health secretary. 

“I know they say they will go and discuss and then will decide on lifting the ceasework. But I have requested them to do so, citing the condition of patients, especially in view of the floods in some of the districts,” the Chief Minister had said after the meeting.

The doctors had declared that meeting a “partial success” and said the government was capitulating in face of the protests that was buttressed by thousands of the residents of the city.

The 31-year-old doctor was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College on August 9. The prime suspect is Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, who was stationed at the police outpost at the hospital and had access to all departments.

The protests that started at the hospital the next day soon snowballed, drawing in  the civil society and leading to a massive logjam with the state government that could not be resolved even by a “back to work’ order by the Supreme Court. Mamata Banerjee said though the court order has empowered her to use strong-arm tactics, she would not do so, since she did not support “Emergency’.

The logjam was caused by the police investigation that left too many unanswered questions, allegations that the police had forced the cremation despite the parents’ unwillingness and an officer’s offer of money to the woman’s parents to bury the case. The officer concerned has been removed as well. 

It was followed by the state’s transfer order for Principal Sandip Ghosh, hours after he resigned from the post under pressure of public opinion. 

The sequence of events led to spiralling protests that spread across the country, already outraged over the shocking crime.

Kolkata:

The protesting junior doctors of Kolkata, who are continuing their ceasework even after a chunk of their demands have been met, have reached the state secretariat for another round of meeting about their remaining demands.

The doctors had refused to stop their ceasework after Monday’s meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying although she had given them verbal assurance to meet their demands, they would wait for its implementation.

The state government has so far transferred the Kolkata police chief and two top health officials. But the doctors say several points on their wishlist are yet to be ticked off.  

Their big unmet demand is the removal of the health secretary, but there has been no decision on it yet, they contend. During their meeting with Ms Banerjee on Monday, she gave them a “verbal assurance, but we have not seen any step in the direction so far,” they have said.

The doctors, who have been on ceasework for more than 40 days, had written to the state government today, seeking more discussions on their unmet demands. They were asked to come for a meeting in the evening.

In their statement to the media, the doctors had also flagged yesterday’s Supreme Court’s reservations about the state’s plan to have volunteers put on security duty at hospitals. Even if that is taken care of, doctors cannot be safe till health services are improved, they had said, pointing to frequent targetting of healthcare professionals by families of patients.

“Ordinary people face problems due to corruption in the allotment of hospital beds, and shortage of life-saving drugs. We want a solution to all these problems,” the doctors’ forum said.

This, they added, can only be resolved through a corruption-free services, more staff and counselling services bereaved families.

Kolkata:

The protesting junior doctors of Bengal have alleged that they had accepted all the conditions laid down by the state government — to the extent of scaling down their demands from live transmission of the meeting to accepting the minutes — but were turned down by the government at the last minute.

“We kept waiting in the rain, but we had to return without any solution and all the junior doctors were disheartened,” said Dr Aqeeb, who was part of the delegation that went to meet Ms Banerjee.

The meeting was scheduled yesterday after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went to the protest site at the health secretariat and invited them to her home.

But their arrival was followed by another argument over live transmission of the proceedings. In between, the Chief Minister came and assured them that they would be given a copy of the video recording after the Supreme Court proceedings are over. She also invited them in for tea even if they refused to take part in the discussions.

The doctors refused, raising demands for justice. Post-9 pm, when they finally were on board with the idea of having minutes of the meeting, signed by both sides, they were told it was too late.

By then, the news had come about the arrest of former RG Kar hospital Principal Sandip Ghosh and a local police officer, Abhijit Mondal. The Central Bureau of investigation had arrested them for alleged evidence tampering in connection with the rape-murder case of a young doctor that is at the heart of the protest.  

With the doctors failing to reach a decision, the Chief Minister went inside her two-room accommodation, saying since the doctors would not come in for discussions or tea, she would continue with her work.

“The junior doctors said that we would have tea only if justice will be delivered. We later gave up on the demand of recording as well and just asked for the minutes of the meeting, but we were told that there had been a delay and nothing could be done now,” said Dr Aqeeb, who was part of the delegation that went to meet Ms Banerjee.

The BJP alleged that Ms Banerjee called off the meeting with the doctors because she was “demoralised” by the arrests. “She apprehends that the next person in the queue may be Vineet Goyal. That’s why CM asked Chandrima Bhattacharya and Manoj Pant to call off the Meeting,” posted the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

On September 13, the junior doctors had criticised the Chief Minister for rejecting their request to live telecast the meeting and left from outside the state secretariat where they had gone to meet her. They argued that their request was reasonable, since parliamentary discussions and many administrative meetings are broadcast live.

They also expressed frustration at being asked to leave their phones and other electronic gadgets outside the meeting hall.

The government has maintained that the proceedings cannot be telecast live since the matter is pending in the Supreme Court — an argument that has not been accepted by the doctors.

New Delhi:

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, stood up by junior doctors who were invited at the state secretariat for a meeting today, in an emotive speech said she was not enamoured of the top post in the state and was ready to step down “in the interest of the people”.  Assuring the doctors that no action will be taken against them, she said the government is always ready for a dialogue. Her anger fell on people, who, she hinted, were masterminding the protest with vested interests. 

Pointing to the proliferation of anti-government messages on social media, she said, “Our government has been insulted. Common people do not know there is a political colour to it”. 

The people behind the political colour, she said, “Do not want justice. They want the chair”.

“In the interest of the people, I am ready to step down. I do not want the post of the Chief Minister. I want justice for Tilottama. And I want common people to get medical treatment,” the Chief Minister said at a press conference after waiting two hours for the junior doctors’ delegation. 

The doctors had come till the gate of the secretariat for the meeting that was expected to begin at 5 pm. But they refused to enter as the government had refused one of their demands – the live transmission of the proceedings. 

Ms Banerjee said they were carrying out instructions. “I know many in the delegation were interested in talks. But two of three people were giving instructions from outside. We have all that. We could see that because it was being recorded by the press, which were standing right behind… They were giving instructions – ‘Do not negotiate, do not go to the meeting’,” Ms Banerjee said. 
 

Kolkata:

The junior doctors of Kolkata have declared that they would continue their protest against the horrific rape-murder of a young doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital till justice is done. The announcement came late on Monday evening – hours after the Supreme Court gave them a 5-pm-Tuesday deadline to join work. 

The doctors said the protest is “a people’s movement and neither the government nor the Supreme Court should forget that”. 

“We are extremely disappointed by the Supreme Court hearing… the case has been transferred from the High Court to the Supreme Court, from the state police to the CBI. But justice is still out of reach,” said a spokesperson of the junior doctors at the RG Kar hospital, the epicentre of the strike.  

Accusing the state government of providing misinformation to the Supreme Court, the doctors said it is not correct to say that the healthcare system has collapsed. The state health department, in its affidavit, has said 23 people have died due to the doctors’ strike.

In a media communique earlier, the Bengal branch of the Indian Medical Association said they would support the decision of the junior doctors whatever it may be. 

“We were expecting a positive outcome keeping in mind the brutality of the offense. However we are totally disheartened by the proceedings of the court and CBI. No step was taken for a speedy trial to deliver justice to our colleague… It was also very much shocking to note the way the junior doctors were portrayed as responsible for few deaths in the hospitals is totally false and in no hospital the service is completely hampered due to the movement of the junior doctors,” the statement read.

The junior doctors have been observing “cease work” at state-run hospitals for nearly a month now. 

During its hearing of the case earlier on Monday, the top court had said the protesting doctors should return to work by Tuesday evening. 

“In order to create a sense of confidence we state that in the event that doctors come to work by 5 PM tomorrow, no adverse actions shall be taken. If there is continuous abstention from work despite the facilities given, there will be likelihood of action in future,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had said.

Pointing out that the 28-day protest has severely disrupted healthcare services, the Chief Justice said, “They are in a system to render service. We will provide facilities but they have to reciprocate. If doctors do not resume work, then we cannot stop the government from taking disciplinary action”. Junior doctors cannot say seniors are working, so they won’t, he added.

The top court’s direction came during a hearing of the case, which the court had taken up on its own after massive protests of the rape-murder of the 31-year-old doctor last month. The prime suspect who has been arrested is Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police who was stationed at the police outpost at the hospital and had access to all departments.

New Delhi:

Was a First Information Report or FIR filed in the Kolkata doctor’s rape-murder case – long before the one filed 14 hours after the body was discovered? An intervenor who filed a petition in the Supreme Court appears to think so. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, intervenor Vijay Singla pointed out that no forensic examination or postmortem can be done before an FIR is lodged.

“My advocate says one FIR was lodged before the postmortem was done. Maybe the FIR was missing or maybe it is there. The second FIR, they say, was lodged at midnight — some 14 hours after the incident,” he said.

Assuming that the postmortem examination was held after the 14-hour-late FIR was filed is also questionable — since the body of the young doctor was cremated around 8 pm, after just 10 hours.

The woman’s parents alleged that they wanted to preserve the body had to cremate it under police pressure. The parents have also claimed that they were even offered money by a police officer to end the matter quietly.  

There have been questions about why the postmortem examination was conducted at RG Kar hospital, which created a conflict of interest of sorts.

Missing Elements In Postmortem Report

In his petition, Mr Singla has pointed out multiple lacunae in the FIR – starting with the first line where the videographer’s name is mentioned. He is the one who pointed out that the crucial challan, without which no postmortem can be done, is not part of the documents submitted, the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI has told the court.

The postmortem report does not mention what time it was issued — a fact pointed out by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in the Supreme Court today. The field under the name of the constable who brought in the postmortem request is also blank.

Kapil Sibal, who was representing the state government, had contested it hotly, saying, “It is all there… why are these submissions being made?”

Then the advocate representing Mr Singla had chimed in with multiple other lacunae in the report.

“Who conducted the videography… no details… was it a writable or rewritable CD… no details… all doctors present were from the north Bengal lobby!” he said. The first line of the report mentions the name of the videographer – Shekhar Roy, but there are no details about his department or designation.

When Mr Sibal pointed out that the Judicial magistrate was there,  the advocate dismissed it with “that is immaterial”.

“From 2.30 pm to 10.30 pm, there are only 10 GD entries! Or was it manufactured,” he said.

What The Court Said

That missing challan and the absence of the constable’s name were the focus of the hearing in the Supreme Court today.

The Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud questioned where the challan was. The document is expected to list the articles of clothing and personal use was submitted for forensic examination. 

Without that challan, a postmortem cannot be carried out, he said.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing the state, could not immediately locate it. “What I am told is that CJM filled it up himself and sent it,” he said. He has been given time till the next hearing on next Wednesday.

Pointing to the postmortem report, Justice JB Pardiwala, who was part of the three-judge bench, said: “See the third column on the top, the constable (who brought the body) is supposed to carry this (form). It has been struck off. So there is no reference of this challan when the dead body is sent for examination. You need to explain, if this document is missing, then something is amiss.”

CBI’s Contention

The Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI has said “who collected the samples” for forensics has emerged as a relevant question.

The agency has also pointed out that the first five hours after the discovery of a homicide is most crucial. In this case, they have reached after five days, they have repeatedly pointed out, flagging the possibility of tampering with the crime scene.

The fresh focus on the role of police following today’s hearing of the Kolkata hospital rape-murder case in Supreme Court has escalated the BJP demand for the dismissal of the city’s police chief Vineet Goyal. Chief Minster Mamata Banerjee has played for time. The police chief, she said, cannot step down immediately in view of the coming Durga Puja, which calls for special stress on law and order. 

“Kolkata Police Commissioner has come to me several times last week and offered to resign,” Ms Banerjee said.  “We have pujo coming up. Someone who is aware of law and order has to be there. If you have patience for a few days, will it be a Mahabharat (big deal)?” she added.

Following the arrest of Sandip Ghose, the former Principal of RG Kar Medical College, the next big demand of the protesters has been the resignation of the police chief. The Opposition parties have thrown their weight behind it. 

The role of the police in the investigation of the young doctor’s rape-murder has raised multiple questions. The woman’s parents have claimed they cremated their daughter’s body under pressure from the police and alleged that a police officer had offered them money to bury the incident. 

There have been complaints about videography and questions why the body’s postmortem was done at RG Kar hospital, which created a conflict of interest of sorts.

The 14-hour delay in filing of the First Information Report has been flagged multiple times, including by the judges of the Supreme Court.

Today, the top court said a key document connected to the postmortem appeared to be missing. 

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud questioned where a certain challan was, that showed what articles of clothing and personal use was submitted for forensic examination. Without that challan, a postmortem cannot be carried out either, he said.

“See the third column on the top, the constable (who brought the body) is supposed to carry this (form). It has been struck off. So there is no reference of this challan when the dead body is sent for examination. You need to explain. If this document is missing, then something is amiss,” said Justice JB Pardiwala, who was part of the three-judge bench.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing the state, could not immediately locate it and has sought more time.  

The Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI has said “who collected the samples” for forensics has emerged as a crucial question.

Kolkata:

The parents of the Kolkata doctor who was raped and killed last month, have accused the Kolkata Police of attempting to destroy evidence since the beginning of the case. Taking part in today’s massive protest march in Kolkata, the woman’s mother said, “The government, administration and the police have not cooperated with us since the beginning of the case”.

The police, she said, also tried to destroy the evidence “from the beginning”. “I request that mass protest should continue as long as we don’t get justice,” she added.

The woman’s father said the mass protests were bringing him hope that justice will be done. “I request everybody to stay with us. I know justice will not come so easily. We have to ensure justice. I hope that people will be with us since they are the main source of our strength,” he said.

The parents of the woman were part of the march held by the medical fraternity from Sealdah to Esplanade.

On September 4, the woman’s father had accused the police of deliberately delaying the registration of a First Information Report. He also claimed that a police officer had offered him money and tried to convince them to settle the matter.

He also accused another officer of Kolkata Police of deliberately trying to mislead people through incorrect media statements — even when the case has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation or the CBI.

Earlier, they had also claimed that they had wanted to preserve their daughter’s body for a second postmortem, but were forced to cremate her.

“About 300-400 cops surrounded us. We returned home and found some 300 cops were standing outside. They created such a situation that we were forced to cremate her,” her father said, setting off a major political row. The Trinamool Congress said the political parties should leave the bereaved parents alone.

“There should have been no politics here. Political parties should not bother them,” said state minister Shashi Panja.

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear the case it has taken up on its own, during which the CBI is expected to present its report. The case was also heard by the Calcutta High Court, which, following the appeal by the  parents, had handed the investigation to the CBI.

While the protests over the rape-murder have acquired a life of their own, the woman’s parents are closely associated with it, and appear on crucial days. The woman’s mother, who lost her only daughter, today said, “Now, all these protesters are all my children”.

New Delhi:

Trinamool MP Jawhar Sircar has threatened to resign over the Mamata Banerjee government’s handling of the wave of protests against the rape-murder at a hospital that has shocked the entire country. In an open letter to the Chief Minister, Mr Sircar also registered his protest against the corruption within the ruling Trinamool Congress by a section of leaders who, he said, are gaining in strength.  

The letter comes on a day a massive statewide protest is due — it would be the centrepiece of a worldwide chain of protest the expat Bengali community has planned today.

About the protests, he said the government is doing “too little, too late” in face of the “spontaneous outpouring of public anger against this unchecked overbearing attitude of the favoured few and the corrupt”.

Pointing to the corruption allegations against the ruling government, he said when he pointed to the  “evidence of corruption that the former education minister” in 2022 and sought action, he was “heckled by senior leaders in the party”.

“I did not resign then as I had hoped that you would carry on your public campaign against ‘cut money’ and corruption that you had started a year earlier,” he wrote

“Let us analyse frankly and realise that the movement is as much for Abhaya as it is against the state government and the party… In all my years, I have not seen such angst and total no-confidence against the government, even when it says something correct or factual,” he added.

He said till now, he was hoping “for your direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, in the old style of Mamata Banerjee”.

“It has not happened and whatever punitive steps that government is taking now are too little and quite late,” the letter read.

Pointing out that the doctors and a majority of the protesters are not encouraging politics, he said, unless course correction is made immediately, “communal forces will capture this state”.

The letter also coincides with a full-page advertisement of the state government in leading dailies, announcing a series of measures it has planned to ensure women’s safety.

The Rs 100-crore plan includes fast-track and POCSO courts, 49 women police stations, CCTV and lighting at designated points, deployment of female volunteers at night.