Kolkata:

The coming by-polls in West Bengal are expected to be bellwether for which way the political winds are blowing in Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal after the massive protests over the rape-murder of a Kolkata doctor. The protest, strongly backed by the urban middle class, has shaken the state and despite protesters’ claims that it was apolitical, it had received significant support from the opposition.

By-polls are due in six seats in various parts of the state – their geography and demography are expected to be strong indicators of the political trend.

The seats include Naihati, the urban centre close to Kolkata, the minority dominated Haroa, Taldangra with a significant tribal population, Sitai with a chunk of minority and Rajbanshi vote, the tea garden seat of north Bengal. Madiahat and Medinipur.

Many believe that the results now could throw light on whether the RG Kar protests will impact future elections. The Opposition BJP, which has been trying to dislodge Mamata Banerjee for years, is hoping for an upset. 

Of the six seats going to polls, five were held by the Trinamool and one by the BJP. While the Trinamool has claimed it will win all six, anything below five will be seen as a loss. For the BJP, winning Madarihat will be a confidence booster after its performance fell in the region during the Lok Sabha election. 

Senior Trinamool Congress Leader Kumal Ghosh said the Opposition “will try their best to misguide and confuse the voters by misusing this RG Kar issue”.

“But I think we are confident that the voters will realise the facts. They know the regime of the CPIM, they know the happenings in the BJP-ruled states and they know that within 24 hours, Kolkata Police have arrested the criminal, the main rape and murder accused,” he added.

In the BJP stronghold of North Bengal, where Trinamool clawed its way back in the Lok Sabha elections, Sitai is situated near the Bangladesh border and the Madarihat seat is largely a tea garden seat and the only one among the six that was held by the BJP.

The Left, which the Trinamool accuses of hijacking the RG Kar protests, is fighting alone this time and not with the Congress as it has done in the past elections.

“This time in by-elections, since it was due in ten seats and four had already happened, six are taking place,” said senior CPM leader Md Salim. “Time was limited so discussions could not be held because of the change of guard in the party’s state unit,” he added.

Kolkata:

A designated CBI court, while denying bail to former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh, has observed that the nature and gravity of the accusation against him is grave and could attract capital punishment if proved.

The CBI had arrested Ghosh and former officer in-charge of Tala police station, Abhijit Mondal, for alleged tampering of evidence and delay in filing of FIR in the rape and murder of a doctor at the state-run hospital on August 9.

The court in its order, dictated on September 25, said it appears from the case diary that the process of investigation by the central probe agency is in full swing.

Denying the bail prayer of Ghosh, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate S Dey observed that the nature and gravity of the accusation is grave and if proved, it may attract capital punishment, which is handed in the rarest of rare cases.

The judge said the court is of the opinion that “it would be injustice flouting the principle of equity to release the accused on bail”.

He said in the order that a person may commit an offence with the help of other/s, and there is no need to be present for the other accused at the place of occurrence.

The court also rejected the bail prayer of Abhijit Mondal.

It granted the CBI’s prayer for judicial custody of the two accused till September 30.

Ghosh’s counsel claimed before the judge at Sealdah Court here that he was falsely implicated in the case and there was no act on his part to commit the crime as alleged.

The postgraduate trainee’s body was found with severe injuries in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Hospital on August 9. 

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

The rage is different this time. Whether it is a case from a Kolkata hospital or a school in the Mumbai suburb of Thane. The dirty secret of the Malayalam film industry is already out in the open. The anger isn’t helped when one learns that even in such heinous crimes, it may take 32 long years to get justice, as in the case involving girls in Rajasthan’s Ajmer in the early 1990s.

But the outrage this time is different, and that gives us hope. It has transcended petty politics. The political class stands discredited. The police administration is frightened. The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance.

The good thing is that this time, the anger is against the powerful system where some predators shamelessly cross all limits while using power or access to it for their own benefits, both carnal or otherwise. The anger is now against the patriarchy that is at the root of all discrimination in the world.

Patriarchy And The Law Of The Jungle

Patriarchy is a disorder that operates according to the law of the jungle. Here, might is considered right. If one has power, they can do anything according to their own will – with their strength, influence, reach, by breaking the system, or by forcibly taking away others’ rights. Sexual harassment is the most perverse manifestation of patriarchy and the jungle raj it represents.

On paper, we have left behind the laws of the jungle, right? But the wild animals still roam the streets in Kolkata, Ajmer, Kochi, Bareilly, Thane, Patna, Satna, Kathua, Hathras… Thousands of names can be added to the list. There are millions of people who still believe in a false sense of superiority that the jungle playbook affords.

But this time, the anger is against those who adhere to these principles. People have begun to realise that the jungle raj serves the interests of a few. It is a kind of democratic upsurge that may lead to far-reaching and sweeping changes.

Those who are wedded to the idea of the rule of law know how beneficial it can be to maintain a safe environment for women. The International Labour Organization (ILO) conducted a survey in 2018 and came up with some startling findings. Where companies struggle to increase profit margins by 2-3%, it was found that increasing female representation on boards raises profit margins by a whopping 5 to 20%.

Some other salient findings of the survey are:

• Increasing female representation raises the likelihood of increased profits and productivity by up to 63%
• Retaining good talent becomes 60% easier
• The chance of innovation increases by 59%
• The company’s reputation increases by 58%
• Understanding consumer behaviour becomes 38% easier

Despite these benefits, changes are woefully slow to come. Look at what a recent UN report says. Worldwide, 270 crore women do not have the rights to the same kind of jobs that men have. Among the 190 countries assessed, 69 have some restrictions on women working in all sectors. And in as many as 43 countries, there are no laws to prevent sexual harassment of women in workplaces. Horrible, isn’t it?

The same UN report also says that worldwide, while only 61% of women attempt to enter the job market; the rate for men is over 90%. And if a woman becomes a mother, only half of them get opportunities to enter the workforce. Men face no such restrictions after becoming fathers. Must be the design of the same set of patriarchal forces.

Why Some Are Scared Of Rule Of Law

The discrimination is beyond comprehension, given the kind of benefits that can accrue if we do away with it. Such discrimination can only exist in a patriarchy-driven jungle raj. 

The question is, why has patriarchy remained so unshakeable for centuries? Clearly, it’s the interests of a powerful few. Those with influence do not want the rule of law to replace this jungle raj. The perks they receive due to their influence make them fearful of losing them under the rule of law.

Some patriarchy exists in all of us – in men and women both. More in some, less in others. However, the rage across the country gives hope that its hold will weaken. It happened after the Nirbhaya movement, and even after the all-powerful MeToo movement that swept the world not too long ago. We all need to fully understand that the destruction of patriarchy is in everyone’s best interest.

Shouldn’t we all unite in our quest to establish the rule of law, a system free from any might-is-right principles?

(Mayank Mishra is Consulting Editor and Vasudha Venugopal is Anchor and Political Editor, at NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Kolkata:

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the Left Front and the BJP have conspired to launch the mob attack on the doctors at RG Kar Medical College who were protesting against the rape-murder of their colleague, which has rocked the medical establishment across the country.  The attack had taken place at midnight as women across the state had hit the streets as part of a “Reclaim the night campaign”. The attackers had vandalized part of the hospital and targeted the police, who had come to control the situation.

The attack has added to the barrage of allegations from the BJP and the Left, who have claimed that it was meant to destroy evidence – a charge the police have denied.  

Mamata Banerjee hurled back the allegation at her accusers today. 

“The Left and the BJP want to create unrest in Bengal and they both have come together to do this,” the Chief Minister said. “The people who vandalised RG Kar Hospital yesterday… are outsiders, I have seen as many videos, I have three videos as I can see, in which some people are holding national flags, they are BJP people, and some are DYFI are holding white and red flags,” Ms Banerjee added.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, early this morning, state BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari had said: “Mamata Banerjee has sent her TMC goons to the apolitical Protest Rally near RG Kar Medical College and Hospital… They were given safe passage by the Police, who either ran away or looked the other way so that these lumpens would enter the hospital premises and destroy areas containing crucial evidence so that it doesn’t get picked up by the CBI.”

“As they were dumb TMC hooligans they couldn’t execute the plan well and revealed their identity when they vandalised the Dharna Manch of the Resident Doctors, PGTs & Internees,” he had added. 

The allegation about destruction of evidence has come up several times over the last few days — including over the delay in allowing the woman’s parents to see her body and the renovation near the seminar hall, where the woman was found dead on Friday. 

It had resurfaced as the group of 40-odd people had vandalised the emergency department, nursing station, and medicine store. They damaged CCTV cameras and ransacked a stage where junior doctors had been holding a protest. The police had to use batons and teargas shells to control the situation. The Kolkata Police said 15 policemen were injured.

Nine people have been arrested so far. 

Ms Banerjee praised the police for their restraint.

“Yesterday, police were attacked… Among them was one Deputy Commissioner (DC) who was there for security purposes, and two Officer-in-charges (OCs). For one hour, they couldn’t be found, and when they were found, they were unconscious and had blood oozing out from their heads. I informed the police at 3 am and had them taken to the Apollo Hospital”.

“I would like to congratulate them that they did not lose patience, they did not hurt anyone,” she added.