From Boats To Graffitis And Beyond Borders: A Month On, Kolkata Rape-Murder Protests Take Many Forms | Watch

A month has passed since the horrific rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata came to the fore. However, the protests, by people from all walks of life – students, doctors, political leaders, locals, clay modellers, and rickshaw pullers, have only intensified, demanding justice for the victim, and punishment for the accused.

Named ‘Abhaya’ (one who does not fear anyone) by protesters, the 31-year-old trainee doctor was found dead at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, this year. With gruesome brutality committed on her making the news headlines, the nation was reminded of the ‘Nirbhaya’ gang-rape and murder case, which triggered massive protests throughout the country in December 2012.

While the rapists of ‘Nirbhaya’ were hanged to death after years of protests and her family’s fight for justice, and tougher laws were introduced after the case, activists believe the Kolkata case shows how women continue to suffer sexual violence in the country.

The rapist and the prime accused in the Kolkata rape and murder case remains lodged at Kolkata’s Presidency Central Jail. A civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, initially confessed to the crime following his arrest on August 10. However, he has since retracted his confession, insisting that he is being framed and is innocent.

The case is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the directions from the Calcutta High Court.

BOATS, GRAFFITIS SHOUT JUSTICE CALL FOR VICTIM

A tweet shared by West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary and MLA, Agnimitra Paul, showed women protesting for ‘Abhaya’, this time on boats in the waters of Sundarbans. Paul said the women risked their lives for the protection. However, she said, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) pays no heed to them.

“When will the voices of our mothers and sisters be heard? We will not stop until justice prevails!”, she wrote on X.

Another post by an X user showed Kolkata locals at Gariahat Road in the city, demonstrating against the RG Kar rape and murder case.

Earlier in August, fans of football clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan united to demand justice for the victim.

Demanding the arrest of all culprits in the case, the mother of the post-graduate trainee, on September 8, said she had one child and now all the protesting medics are her children.

THE MASSIVE ‘NABANNA ABHIJAN’

On August 27, the West Bengal Police lathi-charged and used water cannons and tear gas to disperse agitators at Howrah Bridge’s Kolkata end and near Santragachhi Railway station on Kona Expressway, as protesters attempted to break through police barricades to reach the State secretariat, ‘Nabanna’.

At Santragachhi, agitators threw bricks at police, injuring several officers, while protesters claimed that police action also injured several students.

The protest took a political turn when Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, alleged that police resorted to “brutal repression” on the peaceful participants and threatened to stall West Bengal if the “brutalities” by state administration were not stopped.

A day later, on August 28, workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called for a 12-hour general strike in the state to protest against the police action on those who took part in the march to state secretariat Nabbana.

Later, referring to the Bandh call by the BJP, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged the saffron party was resorting to vandalism and that its workers were attacking the police.

Amid the chaos in Kolkata, a video of an elderly man braving through the police’s water cannons went viral on social media.

In the video, shared by the BJP, the man wearing a saffron-coloured outfit could be seen standing undeterred and facing the water cannons used by the Kolkata Police to disperse the protesting crowd. The man also kept waving the national flag.

PROTESTS ACROSS 25 COUNTRIES

According to a report with news agency Reuters, thousands of members of the Indian community protested in more than 130 cities across 25 countries on Sunday, to demand justice for the trainee doctor.

The protests started in large and small groups across Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore, before spreading to cities in several European countries. Sixty were planned in the United States, the report stated.

At one of the protest sites in the Swedish capital Stockholm, scores of mainly black-clad women gathered in Sergels Torg Square to sing songs in Bengali. They held signs, demanding accountability for the crime and safety of Indian women.

DOCTORS, ACTIVISTS DEMAND GOVERNOR’s INTERVENTION

On September 7, members of the West Bengal Service Doctors Forum took out a rally from Sealdah station to the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, and demanded the intervention of Governor CV Ananda Bose in the matter.

“So many days have passed, but there seems to be little progress in the investigation into the gruesome incident,” Seema Das, a protesting nurse, said.

As the rally was stopped near the Raj Bhavan, with prohibitory orders in force around the building, a five-member delegation went inside to submit a memorandum.

However, as the Governor was not present, his office accepted the memorandum, news agency PTI reported.

In another solidarity movement for the victim, painters like Sanatan Dinda drew sketches in water colour and oil on canvas at Shyambazar, close to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the medic’s body was found with injury marks.