West Bengal's ruling party Trinamool Congress on Saturday is holding protests across the state demanding capital punishment for the accused in the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party will hold protests across the state, demanding the death sentence and a change in the law to ensure stricter punishment. The opposition BJP has also intensified its protests against the Trinamool government, as the Centre vs. state political blame game continues in West Bengal, 20 days after the murder of the second-year postgraduate medical student inside the seminar hall of a state-run hospital.
The Trinamool Congress's two-day dharna, seeking the death penalty in the Kolkata rape-murder case and stricter laws for crimes against women, begins on Saturday. Mamata Banerjee has urged all Trinamool workers to protest across blocks in the state today and has called for women to protest on Sunday.
The BJP, which had also announced a 7-day dharna to protest against the state government, is expected to hold multiple protests across the state. The saffron party accuses Mamata Banerjee of showing a dictatorial attitude towards protesting students and trying to avoid responsibility for the rape-murder.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) will also be holding a protest match at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday to “seek justice”. IMA official Dr Suvrankar Datta said that they are organising a protest to “ask for justice for our colleague in RG Kar Medical College and to ask the Central Government for a centralised protection act for healthcare professionals to prevent violence”.
The central government has called on Banerjee to expedite the establishment and operationalisation of fast-track special courts dedicated to handling cases of rape and those under the POCSO Act in the state. Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Annapurna Devi, urged the Chief Minister to ensure that justice is served swiftly and efficiently for victims of heinous crimes.
The Centre, in response to Mamata Banerjee’s letter, existing laws were stringent enough to tackle violence and crimes against women and urged the state to implement the same in "letter and spirit". Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reiterating her request for stringent central legislation.
The National Human Rights commission (NHRC), on Friday, issued a notice to the Kolkata Police commissioner over the alleged use of excessive and brutal force on protesters demanding justice for the victim in the RG Kar Medical College rape-murder case. The NHRC has sought an action-taken report from the police commissioner in two weeks over the police action on August 27.
After a video surfaced showing several people gathered inside the seminar hall where the trainee doctor was killed, the Kolkata Police asserted that the area was well cordoned off and properly preserved by releasing photographs of the crime scene, stating that it was not compromised.
According to sources, the CBI team investigating the rape-murder is looking into the cause of a 40-minute delay between the discovery of the deceased's body and notifying the police. The central agency is exploring whether there was an attempt by the hospital authorities to cover up the crime, sources said.
The West Bengal Governor’s office, in a statement, said that they are in fast-track mode in handling requests by the parents of the victim of the RG Kar tragedy. This comes after Governor Ananda Bose met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi and apprised him of the gravity of the situation and the protests in the state.
West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar meanwhile alleged that Mamata Banerjee's "fire" comment has the potential to foment unrest in the various states. Majumdar, who is also a Union Minister, asserted that central agencies should keep a tab on the meetings attended by Banerjee to check whom she is interacting with. Banerjee had said, "If Bengal is set on fire, Assam, northeast, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Delhi will also be affected".
Source: India Today