RG Kar: Differences in voices even as parties seek severest punishment
Times of India | 19 January 2025
Kolkata: Parties across the political spectrum have called for the "severest punishment" for civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, hours after he was declared guilty by the Sealdah trial court. However, there were some differences in voices, too. While Trinamool said that the ruling was a vindication that the probe by Kolkata Police was on the right track from the beginning, BJP said it suspected that evidence collected by Kolkata Police stopped CBI from identifying other possible culprits.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: "We have said it repeatedly that the RG Kar incident is horrific and condemnable. CM Mamata Banerjee herself condemned it in the strongest words and demanded death penalty for the culprit. Kolkata Police arrested the perpetrator within 24 hours. But a section of people tried to spread misinformation and mislead people to fulfil their political and personal interests... In three cases after RG Kar, Bengal cops acted swiftly and the perpetrators were given capital punishment. We want death penalty for the RG Kar convict."
Ghosh claimed Kolkata Police had been targeted with vested interests, but all opposing voices had been proven wrong. "Those who misled people with slander have been proven wrong today. Today's verdict proves that the Kolkata Police's investigation was on the right path, despite some leftists, extreme leftists, blind TMC opponents, and a section of doctors using people's emotions with political intent to tarnish govt's image. The investigation was handed over to CBI midway, but even then, Kolkata Police's investigation was validated," he said.
Junior Union minister and Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar alleged a "larger conspiracy". "The court has convicted him (Roy), but the people of Bengal believe that more than one persons may have been involved in the incident. When the case was being investigated for five days by Kolkata Police, evidence was tampered. The CBI lawyer said the same in the court. We want strict punishment... RG Kar incident has exposed the poor state of the law and order situation in Bengal," Majumdar said. He hinted at a cover-up and alleged that Roy had been framed. "Roy has said several times that he was being trapped and there was a conspiracy against him...We want the court to order a probe into who tried to silence him," the minister added.
Meanwhile, SUCI has planned to hold a mega rally on Tuesday to demand "proper justice" to the RG Kar victim. The rally will start from Hedua at noon and is expected to reach Rani Rashmoni Avenue around 2pm," said party secretary Chandidas Bhattacharya. He added: "The judiciary should give justice to the people, but here only one accused was found though there are chances of the presence of multiple people at the crime scene according to the forensic evidence."
CPM's Sujan Chakraborty claimed that the verdict "did not mean real justice" for the victim. "A verdict in just 12 minutes! A verdict doesn't necessarily mean justice. ‘Setting Bengal' has become even clearer today. Justice must be seized. We want justice," he posted on X.