A day after two key suspects in the rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar hospital got bail, the Left parties and the Congress on Saturday took out protest rallies at various locations in Kolkata, alleging that the CBI has “failed” to deliver justice in the case.
They also alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal and the BJP-led Centre have a “tacit understanding”.
The Congress took out a procession from Rabindra Sadan area to the CBI office at Nizam Palace in southern Kolkata and criticised the central probe agency for its alleged inability to frame charges against the two accused in the case.
During the procession, Congress activists were seen holding the party flags aloft and chanting slogans like ‘We demand justice’ and ‘Bichar chai Tilottoma (Tilottoma wants justice)’.
The police stopped the Congress activists from entering the Nizam Palace, which led to a scuffle between the protesters and the police personnel.
Hundreds of people took part in a rally, organised by the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front (WBJDF), from Karunamayee to another CBI office at CGO Complex in Salt Lake area, covering a distance of one kilometre.
Junior doctors’ forum organised the march to protest the “delay in framing charges by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)” against all the “conspirators” in the rape and murder of the woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The parents of the deceased medic also participated in the rally.
“We will fight for justice and it is our right,” said the mother of the deceased doctor. The protestors were holding placards which read “If the system has failed, we will make it function to deliver justice”.
In a separate rally, SUCI (Communist) activists marched from Karunamoyee to the CGO Complex in Salt Lake, while a rally was taken out by SFI, the students’ wing of the CPI(M), in College Street area in the northern part of the city.
The Sealdah court in Kolkata had on Friday granted bail to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital’s ex-principal Sandip Ghosh and former officer-in-charge of the Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal in the rape and murder case of the on-duty doctor.
They were granted bail after the CBI “failed” to file a charge sheet against them within the mandatory 90-day period.
The ruling TMC on Friday criticised the CBI after two key accused in the rape and murder of the doctor at the RG Kar hospital got bail, while the Opposition BJP attacked the state government, alleging that it did not provide enough support to the central agency in the investigation.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Despite going by the narrative of a section of protesters and the opposition, the CBI failed to conclusively prove the involvement of the two accused in the August 9 incident.”
“So the onus falls on CBI. They must explain why they could not prove the charges against Sandip Ghosh and Abhijit Mondal after naming them as co-conspirators for hiding evidence,” he said.
Targeting the opposition, Ghosh noted that many people were delighted after the case was handed over to the CBI. He said the Kolkata Police arrested the prime accused in the beginning, and the CBI had later charged him.
Former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee said, “The CBI was stung by lack of support and assistance by the state administration and police who wanted to shield those close to the ruling dispensation.” “Though it delayed the filing of the charge sheet against the two key suspects, they are still under scanner. The CBI will go to the bottom of the case and arrest all those involved directly or indirectly,” she added.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty claimed the “shocking development” showed that there was a “setting” or nexus between the TMC and the BJP-led government at the Centre.
“The victim, her parents and lakhs of people who hit the streets to protest the heinous crime are demoralised. It is a big letdown for them. But we will intensify our protests in the coming days,” he said.
The arrested police officer was accused of delaying the filing of the FIR in the rape and murder case, while Ghosh faced charges of tampering with evidence.