Anger on streets, Bengal on boil: How the state is braced for a tense Friday
Times of India | 16 August 2024
KOLKATA: Bengal is gearing up for a tense Friday as a shutdown-like scenario looms, with CM Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and opposition parties BJP and CPM announcing separate protests centered on RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The recent rape and murder of a postgraduate resident doctor on August 9 has sparked national outrage.
BJP and CPM condemned the vandalism that occurred at the state-run hospital during a late-night protest (Wednesday-Thursday) by women against the crime.
The vandals, who damaged property and clashed with police, have further intensified the already volatile situation.
In response, the state BJP leadership called for all political parties to unite and bring Bengal to a standstill.
A tense Friday in Kolkata
The BJP has planned road blockades from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Kolkata and across the districts, along with a two-hour cease-work at all state government establishments.
The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) on Thursday announced that they have decided to resume its strike.
The CPM announced a two-day agitation starting Friday, while SUCI called for a 12-hour bandh from 6 a.m.
CPM’s Sujan Chakraborty accused the CM of being involved in the vandalism, while fellow party member Bikash Ranjan claimed that the Trinamool was behind both the crime and the attack by miscreants.\
CBI officers speak to murdered doctor's family, grills hospital officials
CBI officers visited the home of the doctor who was raped and murdered at a Kolkata hospital and spoke with her parents as part of their investigation.
They recorded the time the parents received the call from the hospital about their daughter's death.
The officers also inquired about her friends and whether she had reported any issues at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where she was a postgraduate trainee.
Women 'reclaim the night' in Kolkata
In Kolkata, protestors chanted slogans such as “Meyera, raat dokhol koro” (Women, Reclaim the Night) and “The Night is Ours,” while calling for safer night transport for women and secure rest areas for night-shift professionals.