'Protect our protectors': Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Vijay Varma, Priyanka Chopra demand justice for Kolkata rape-murder case victim
Times of India | 16 August 2024
NEW DELHI: Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vijay Varma and Kriti Sanon have demanded justice for the postgraduate trainee physician in Kolkata who was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty.
The incident took place on August 9 at RG Kar Medical College, has sparked nationwide protests by doctors and medical students.The probe has been transferred to the CBI, leading to the arrest of a civic volunteer.
In a social media post on Thursday evening, Hrithik Roshan emphasized that Indian society has a long path ahead to ensure everyone feels equally safe. He condemned the violence against the protesting doctors at the Kolkata hospital and stood in solidarity with the victim's family.
"Yes, we need to evolve into a society where we ALL feel equally safe. But that is going to take decades. It’s going to hopefully happen with sensitizing and empowering our sons and daughters. The next generations will be better. We will get there. Eventually. But what in the interim? Right now, justice would be to put a hard stop to such atrocities. And the only way to do that is a punishment so harsh that it scares the living daylights out of such perpetrators. That’s what we need. Perhaps?" he wrote.
"I stand with the victim's family in seeking justice for their daughter, and I stand with all the doctors that were attacked last night," Hrithik added.
Alia Bhatt highlighted that not much has changed since the 2012 brutal gang rape of a physiotherapy intern in Delhi. "Another brutal rape. Another day of realisation that women are not safe, anywhere. Another horrific atrocity to remind us that it’s been over a decade since the Nirbhaya tragedy, but still nothing much has changed," she said in a post on Instagram.
Kareena Kapoor Khan echoed similar sentiments in her Instagram post, stating, "12 years later, the same story, the same protest. But we are still waiting for change."
Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar shared her concern via an Instagram Story: "Still waiting on the day all women can be independent and safe."Her brother, filmmaker-actor Farhan Akhtar, posted a contemplative poem on Instagram in memory of the victim.
"Speak for me, when I am gone, of shattered dreams and unfinished songs... Speak of empty canvases, of poems half written, of stillborn promises the death of a kitten... Speak of homes on fire, speak of decaying desire, of unrealised ambition, a cause stripped of fruition... Speak for me when I am gone, speak for me when I am gone..."
Sara Ali Khan demanded "justice for women" in a post on her Instagram story.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas reposted a photo from a British news outlet, which showed a protestor holding a banner that read, "Who will speak for her if you don’t?"
Actor Vijay Varma stressed the importance of protecting those who serve, stating, "At the least... protect our protectors."
Twinkle Khanna, in an Instagram post, shared her frustrations noting that she is teaching her daughter the same cautionary advice she was taught as a child.
"Fifty years on this planet, in this country, and I am teaching my daughter the same things I was taught as a child. Don’t go alone - to the park, to school, to the beach."
Kriti Sanon expressed her heartbreak over the situation, calling for more significant measures to ensure women's safety. "While we celebrate our 78th year of Independence and feel proud of how far we’ve come as a country globally...There is absolutely no fear in the people who commit these inhumane acts. And even today, it's the woman being blamed for being a victim!!! Unless there is faster justice, severe punishments and more importantly better upbringing, nothing is gonna change. Are we really FREE when our basic safety is in question??".
Bhumi Pednekar, in her Independence Day message on Instagram, hoped for independence from acts of violence against women. She provided a note emphasizing the need for stricter laws against such crimes.
"Something that should send shivers down our spines doesn't even get a reaction from us because it’s become a regular occurrence. We should be ashamed. This is our collective failure. Our culture worships Shakti, remember that. Stricter laws. Make an example of those perpetrators. Let there be fear of the law."
Indo-Canadian singer expressed his feelings through a Punjabi song dedicated to the victim, highlighting the lack of safety even in familiar places. "She was not safe in a place where everyone knew her. Today we all ask you, is it a curse to be born a girl in this world?".
The case continues to be a major point of discussion, with Bollywood celebrities and the general public calling for swift justice.
The Calcutta High Court's decision to transfer the probe to the CBI reflects the gravity of the situation and the pressure to bring the perpetrators to justice.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)