The Kolkata Rape-Murder atrocity has sparked nationwide protest, the fire is burning fast and strong as starting tomorrow, doctors across India are set to withdraw their services for 24 hours, as announced by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

The strike will take place from 6 am on Saturday, August 17, to 6 am on Sunday, August 18.

Medical professionals throughout the country have been protesting the horrific crime against a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College, leading various doctors’ associations to declare their own strikes.

The announcement marks the first nationwide call to suspend non-essential medical services.

“All essential services will be maintained. Casualty departments will remain operational. However, routine outpatient departments (OPDs) will not function, and elective surgeries will be postponed. The withdrawal applies to all sectors where modern medicine doctors provide services. The IMA calls for national solidarity with the just cause of its doctors,” the IMA stated in a release.

The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) also announced a protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on August 16, in response to the incident.

“To voice our protest against these acts, we (BMC MARD, IMA, IMA JDN, ASMI) are organizing a peaceful demonstration at Azad Maidan, Mumbai, on August 16, 2024, at 1 pm. We urge our fellow medical colleagues, doctors, medical students, resident doctors, senior doctors, and other associations to join us in this protest against the injustice,” MARD stated in a press release.

The incident at Kolkata’s government medical college is also joined by the Bengali film and television industry alongside the protesting doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Earlier this week, chaos erupted at the hospital late Thursday night, with police seeking refuge in bathrooms and requesting assistance from nurses as multiple departments, including the Emergency department, ICU, HDU, store rooms, male wards, and even bathrooms, were vandalized. CCTV cameras were also destroyed.

The IMA condemned the vandalism at the Kolkata hospital, stating, “Authorities who, through their negligence, allowed such a heinous crime to occur have once again failed to maintain law and order during a critical CBI investigation.”

Earlier this week, the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI, taking it over from the Kolkata Police.

Since the incident, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also taken suo motu cognizance of the events of August 9, based on media reports, and has requested a detailed report within two weeks.

“The body of the deceased reportedly bore scratch marks, suggesting a struggle occurred during the incident. The victim’s family has allegedly claimed that she was raped and murdered,” the rights panel stated. The Commission also expressed interest in learning about the steps taken or proposed by the authorities to prevent such incidents from happening again.

12-Hour Strike in Bengal

Kolkata is expected to witness political protests and rallies on Friday, August 16.

The BJP‘s women’s wing plans to hold a candlelight march to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence, demanding her resignation over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor, as well as the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) has also called for a 12-hour general strike in West Bengal on August 16 to protest the vandalism at the medical college and to demand the arrest of those involved in the heinous crime.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will join the protests on August 17, calling for capital punishment for the accused in the trainee doctor’s rape and murder case.

Banerjee announced her plans to launch a protest to demand justice for the victim and urged the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has taken over the case from Kolkata Police, to “ensure justice by next Sunday.”

The Viewpoint

This tragedy could have been prevented if the Kolkata police had done its job!

The shocking incident at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College has exposed deep flaws in the system, from failures in law enforcement to the unchecked behavior of individuals with power.

Despite multiple warnings and complaints, no action was taken against Sanjay Roy, a man with a history of abuse and connections to the police and now the entire country is paying the price!

This tragic outcome only shows how we lack in accountability and reform within the system and it is a must to prevent such atrocities from occurring again.

The widespread outrage and protests across the country reflect a collective demand for justice and a call to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

The Number Of Complaints Yet No Action

On May 13, 2023, a complaint was lodged at Kalighat police station against Sanjay Roy, the man now accused of raping and killing a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College.

The complaint came from his wife, who was three months pregnant at the time, alleging that Roy had assaulted her.

The point to note here, is that this was not the first time she had sought help from the police.

On August 8, 2022, she filed a similar complaint against him.

Yet, despite these warnings, no action was taken against Roy, who worked closely with the police as a civic volunteer when the 35-year-old was eventually arrested, he was found at the barracks of the 4th battalion of the Kolkata Armed Police.

According to his mother-in-law, had the police acted earlier, the 31-year-old doctor might not have faced such a tragic fate.

Roy, who completed his education up to the 12th grade, was once a boxer and joined the Kolkata police as a civic volunteer in 2019.

Sources indicate that he was part of the Disaster Management Force, and his influence grew when he became a central committee member of the Kolkata Police Welfare Board. He was also known to frequent the police outpost at RG Kar Medical College.

“Had he been arrested earlier, lost his job, or faced any action, this tragedy might have been prevented,” said Durga Devi, his mother-in-law.

Her daughter married Roy on February 19, 2022.

A review of the complaints filed by his wife on August 8, 2022, and May 13, 2023, reveals allegations of assault, with one complaint even including medical documents as evidence. After the last complaint, Durga Devi took her daughter back home. Sadly, her daughter passed away from cancer on August 10, 2023.

“He used to drink and beat my daughter. Once, he assaulted her when she was three months pregnant, causing her to lose the child. We arranged her marriage to him because he claimed to work with the Kolkata police,” Durga Devi alleged.

At their small family home, Roy’s mother, Malati Ray, is in shock. “What can I say? He is my son. But if he has done something like this, he should be punished. He never talked to me about his work, and he was rarely at home. My other three daughters are married,” she said.

One of his sisters told media, “I married someone outside our caste, which angered my family, so I don’t have good relations with them. But this news has shocked and shamed me. How could my brother commit such a heinous crime? He deserves to be punished.”

Neighbors described how Roy would flaunt his police connections and even deceived some people by promising them jobs as constables.

Rabishankar Shaw, who runs a stall near Roy’s house, claimed he was swindled out of Rs 2.2 lakh. “He would also charge people to help them get admitted to hospitals,” Shaw said; this is the kind of man we are talking about!

Sources revealed that Roy was assigned to the police outpost at RG Kar Medical College as part of his job.

“He spent most of his time at RG Kar and sometimes stayed overnight at the quarters of the fourth battalion of the Kolkata Armed Police. Since he was part of the Welfare Association, he had a lot of freedom. He even had a motorbike assigned to him by the police and received five liters of fuel daily,” said a police officer who knew him.