Doctor's rape-murder: TMC MP who moved court against Bengal police vows to back 'people’s protest'

Kolkata: TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy may have avoided further confrontation with his party's government in West Bengal after deleting a social media post on the alleged rape and murder of a doctor, yet he chooses to keep supporting the “spontaneous mass upheaval” against the horrific crime in the state-run hospital.

He indicated his conviction will remain firm even if that “uprising” ultimately puts the party he faithfully served for 13 years in the dock.

“In my entire 56 years of political life, I have never witnessed such a spontaneous upheaval of the common masses. They didn’t bother for a political flag to unite and hit the streets in protest in the middle of the night with a common agenda: justice for the victim and punishment for the perpetrator,” Roy told PTI.

The fire was obviously burning embers somewhere deep down and this incident stoked that resentment to spread like wildfire, the 75-year-old Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha chief whip said.

"My conscience was jolted. I can’t bury my head in sand like an ostrich and pretend all is fine simply because my party thinks otherwise. I am, after all, father to a motherless daughter and grandfather to a granddaughter. My family, too, can get singed someday by such horrors in society. Who will save me then?” he continued.

On Tuesday, Roy removed his X handle post from August 18 where he demanded “custodial interrogation” of former R G Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal for alleged derelictions in their respective duties in handling alleged rape and murder of a medic in R G Kar Hospital and the subsequent large-scale vandalism on its hospital premises by a mob.

The now-deleted post already had 1.29 lakh views by then, Roy said.

The MP moved Calcutta High Court after he was slapped with two back-to-back appearance notices on Monday by the Kolkata Police for “spreading rumours” on social media and sought protection. He had initially ignored the summons citing medical grounds and had asked for time for compliance.

During the hearing, the state and Roy informed the court that the two sides reached a settlement. The court observed that it will pass an order on Wednesday in this regard after Roy deletes the social media message in question and the state submits a report stating that it will not take any subsequent action against him.

“Moving court was an afterthought. I was initially getting ready for the police to come home and arrest me,” Roy revealed.

Refusing to comment on his position in the matter on grounds that “the case is still sub-judice”, Roy, an advocate for 44 years, highlighted that all his other posts regarding the RG Kar Hospital incident remained there.

Roy’s first post on August 13, made soon after the Calcutta High Court transferred probe responsibility from the Kolkata Police to the CBI, read, “Gangrape and merciless murder happened in RG Kar Hospital. Who are they? Now CBI to investigate. Well. I’ve no faith in CBI. They are nincompoop. Yet the truth is to be unravelled. Why there are attempts to shield the beasts? Whosoever is responsible for the crime must be hanged.”

That post was quickly followed by another: “Tomorrow I am going to join the protesters particularly because I have a daughter and little granddaughter like millions of Bengali families. We must rise to the occasion. Enough of cruelty against women. Let’s resist together. Come what may.”

It was the latter which caught the media’s attention since Roy clearly sounded out of tune with his party’s official position vis-a-vis the “Reclaim the Night” protests by citizens on August 14.

Roy participated in a midnight sit-in close to his south Kolkata residence in the early hours of Independence Day when cries of justice for the R G Kar victim shattered the city’s midnight air.

He subsequently wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah to promulgate a “stringent central legislation” to ensure safety of women at workplaces and institutions.

Much to the chagrin of the Bengal administration, Roy again took to X on August 18 to protest the detention of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal supporters during their united protests outside the Salt Lake Stadium following the cancellation of the Durand Cup derby match in apprehension of trouble.

“I appeal to all football and sports lovers to protest unitedly against the arbitrary arrests of supporters of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in a peaceful and democratic manner,” Roy wrote.

That was the day when Roy had put out a Rabindranath Tagore song clip Ami Bhoy Korbo Na (I will not be afraid) from a popular rendition.

“What struck me is how a doctors’ agitation so quickly became a mass uprising against affairs in the state. There was no political banner involved in this. It was a people’s upheaval through and through. And they cried for justice. No one wanted Mamata Banerjee’s resignation or spoke against the TMC until opposition parties moved in and tried to hijack it,” Roy observed.

“That fact was gnawing at me from inside. I couldn’t ignore the cry for justice from a mother walking below my house with a toddler in her arms. I took some time to decide what stand I should take and now I have decided to be with the people, no matter what. I will support them from afar, if they refuse to accept me as one of them,” the TMC leader said.

Roy welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to take suo motu cognizance of the incident and forming a National Task Force to formulate protocols involving the case.