Doctor rape-murder case highlights: 'Stand with us until accused is caught,' victim's mother's emotional appeal to countrymen

"I don't want to be the next victim", read placards carried by several women medics who were part of a march here on Saturday to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a state-run hospital in Kolkata last week.

Hundreds of medics, including doctors and resident doctors, wearing stethoscopes over their white aprons, started their march from the Lady Hardinge Medical College on the sixth day of their agitation over the incident and to press for their demands such as a central law to check violence against healthcare personnel.

. The Union Home Ministry has asked all state police forces to provide it situation reports every two hours in the wake of protests by doctors, nursing staff and others against the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

In a communication to the state police forces, the home ministry said that the law and order situation of all states should be monitored in view of the protests.

. The former principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh, was on Saturday questioned for several hours by the CBI for the second consecutive day, as part of its probe into the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at the state-run medical establishment, officials said.

After Friday's grilling, which continued till early Saturday, Ghosh was again summoned at the CBI office for another round of questioning, they said.

He was seen re-entering the CBI office at the CGO complex in Salt Lake with a bunch of papers and files a little before 10:30 am on Saturday, and hadn’t left the premises till reports last received.

. The government's assurance on Saturday to form a panel for suggesting measures to boost the safety of healthcare personnel failed to quell protests by medics who remained firm on their demand for a central law on the matter and decided to continue their agitation against the alleged rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor in Kolkata.

OPD services were hit across the country as doctors joined the 24-hour nationwide strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to protest the incident at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital last week and the subsequent vandalism at the facility.

. The West Bengal government on Saturday announced a slew of measures to ensure the safety of women in workplaces, particularly at state-run hospitals, where they have to work on night shifts, too, including designated retiring rooms and CCTV-monitored ‘safe zones’.

Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, announced the measures during a press meet here, amid continuing protests by doctors across the state against the alleged rape and murder of a medic at RG Kar hospital.

Apart from hospitals and medical colleges, hostels and other places engaging women during night shifts will now come under the ambit of a flagship programme ‘Rattirer Sathi – Helpers of the Night', comprising volunteers, he said.

. Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday over the alleged rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata and alleged that the police, in collaboration with "TMC goons", conspired to destroy evidence related to the case.

The minister also accused the West Bengal government of mishandling the case.

. The CBI will conduct a psychological assessment of Sanjay Roy, the accused in a rape-and-murder case of a doctor in Kolkata that has triggered nationwide protests, officials said on Saturday.

A team of psychological and behavioural analysts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi has arrived in Kolkata to conduct the necessary tests, they said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already taken Roy into custody.

The federal agency questioned Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the incident took place, for a second consecutive day on Saturday in connection with the alleged rape and killing of the trainee doctor.

. Amid protests against the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata, BJP leader and chief organiser of crowd-puller Santosh Mitra Square Puja Committee, Sajal Ghosh on Saturday called upon all Durga Puja committees across West Bengal to decline the state government's Rs 85,000 honorarium as a mark of protest against "failure to ensure women safety".

Ghosh, who has been organising the puja for several years in north Kolkata showcasing various themes drawing lakhs of revellers, told PTI, "Women are being violated, raped, killed in public places, in workplaces and at homes under the regime of Mamata Banerjee who has failed to ensure their safety. When faced with mounting public anger, she is blaming everyone but herself for the situation."

. "The case has been handed over to the CBI, this shows that West Bengal Police was trying to suppress it. The CM is protesting for the arrest of the accused. She is the Chief Minister, Health Minister and Home Minister, the question is who is she protesting against?... I am sure the CBI will catch the accused and they will get the strictest punishment..."

. "In an unprecedented move, Mamata Banerjee’s Police has cancelled Kolkata's most awaited football match, the East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan derby, scheduled for 18th Aug. The tickets were all sold out. REASON GIVEN: inability to provide security for the game. It speaks volumes about the condition of law and order in West Bengal, under Mamata Banerjee, if they are unable to provide security to around 60,000 people, let alone State’s 10 crore population. But the REAL REASON is: supporters of both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan were planning to carry posters and placards seeking justice for the RG Kar MCH rape and murder victim, along with a demand for Mamata Banerjee to resign. The game was cancelled fearing this kind of mass protest."

. CBI officials have asked former principal of state-run RG Kar Medical and College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, to appear before them for questioning for the third consecutive day in connection with their probe into the rape and murder of a woman doctor.

. JDU spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan on Sunday said that govt must take demands of protesters very seriously.

"The entire medical fraternity is shocked. They are concerned about their safety after the incident of Kolkata. This question is not confined to West Bengal's TMC government. The government have taken the demands of protesters very seriously," he told PTI.

. A day after TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray demanded the questioning of Kolkata Commissioner of Police in connection with the rape and murder of a trainee doctor, senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh called out his fellow party leader.

"Today, MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy has tweeted that there should be a custodial interrogation of the police commissioner (of Kolkata). We oppose this demand because CP Vineet Goyal did his best within 12 hours and the accused has been arrested and more interrogation was underway. The CM had asked for more 3-4 days and there were chances of a breakthrough. But now the case is with the CBI and the CM has no interest in it. The emotion and the protest of Sukhendu Sekhar Roy are logical but such an illogical demand that he wants the police commissioner arrested, we condemn this demand. He should not have tweeted this...," he said.

Ray, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, demanded strict probe by CBI, which took over the probe into the rape and murder case from the Kolkata Police.

. BJP leader Locket Chatterjee on Sunday slammed the Kolkata police after summons over disclosing victim's identity, saying that 'Lalbazar police has only one job of judging the posts of opposition leaders and common people by going through social media.'

"I have not received any summons till now. What other work do Kolkata Police have? The whole country and the entire state is seeking justice. They do not find it necessary to cooperate in the investigation. It is a spineless police... They are focused only on social media posts. How many people will they summon? Do they have a place to keep crores of people? All of us will go there together... We have seen what they have done to tamper with evidence. They even transferred 42 doctors... How can we trust the police? This is her private force. TMC Rajya Sabha MP is also demanding the resignation of the Kolkata Police Commissioner...," she said.

. The Kolkata Police today summoned Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray for allegedly spreading misinformation about the details surrounding the brutal rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

On Friday, Ray posted on X, "CBI must act fairly. Custodial interrogation of Ex Principal and Police Commissioner is a must to know who and why floated suicide story. Why wall of hall demolished, who patronised Roy to be so powerful, Why sniffer dog used after 3 days. 100s of such questions. Make them speak."

. "It is very weird and I am surprised. The CM (Mamata Banerjee) is the health minister, law and order is in her hands, and she is in power. If she cannot handle it she should resign...If they are not removed from power, Bengal will become second Bangladesh..."

. Speaking on the alleged rape and murder of trainee doctor, West Bengal Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said, "We have only one demand that CBI should complete the investigation and chargesheet should be filed. The actual culprit should be hanged to death. We don't know what the police are doing."

Source: ANI

. Father of the deceased doctor in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-death case on Sunday levelled grave charges against the administration and said that he is not satisfied with the inquiry being carried out thus far.

"No results have come out of the inquiry that is being done. We hope we will get results. No one from the department or the college cooperated with us. The entire department is involved in this," he told ANI .

He also alleged that while CM Mamata Banerjee is protesting herself, the government is jailing common people who are taking out rallies demanding justice for the victim.

"There were three bodies at the crematorium but our daughter's body was cremated first. The CM is talking about providing justice, but then attempts are being made to put the common people demanding justice in jail. We are not satisfied with the CM. We have refused to take any compensation," he added.

. The top court has taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital.

A bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud will hear the matter on Tuesday.

. The mother of the deceased doctor in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-death case alleged that "the police did not do a good job in the matter." She also said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying to stop the protests by imposing section 144.

"First we got a call from the hospital that your daughter is sick, then the call was disconnected. After that when I called and asked what happened, they told me to come to the hospital. When we called again, the (caller) identified himself as Assistant Super and said your daughter has committed suicide. She went to duty on Thursday, we got this call on Friday at 10:53pm."

"When we reached there, we were not allowed to see her, we were allowed to see her at 3 o'clock. Her pants were open, there was only one piece of cloth on her body. Her hand was broken, blood was coming out of her eyes, mouth. Just by looking at her, it seemed that someone had murdered her. I told them it is not suicide, it's a murder. We worked so hard to make our daughter a doctor but she was murdered."

Source: ANI

. All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey on Sunday said that law and order has completely collapsed in West Bengal after a Derby match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan was cancelled at Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata.

"It is very shameful; law and order has completely collapsed in West Bengal. A football match could not happen... and look at police deployment, it looks like a riot is going on," he told PTI .

Meanwhile, supporters of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal football clubs were detained by the police while they were protesting against the alleged the rape and murder case outside Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium.

. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed grief at the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

He said, "I have sympathy and solidarity with the doctors. For a couple of years at least, I have been speaking in parliament about the issue of violence against doctors. I got into a bit of a debate with the then Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. I had argued that the government should bring in a bill to specifically protect medical professionals in the course of their duties. The government gave me a very odd reply that if they start doing it for one profession, they'd have to do it for others. It is a ridiculous argument."

Source: ANI

. BJP leader Locket Chatterjee said that instead of doing their job of providing justice and supporting the CBI (in the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case), the Kolkata Police is busy catching people for something related to social media.

"Yes, I have received a summons. I will go, but when exactly I will go has not been decided yet... I also want to see what is so important for the Kolkata Police," she told PTI.

Kolkata Police have summoned Chatterjee for allegedly spreading rumours and disclosing the identity of the woman doctor who was raped and murdered at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.

. On the rape-murder incident at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha said, "What has happened to the girl of our family is a great tragedy, a great loss, a great shock...if anyone even thinks of it his condition will worsen. I express my full condolences and sympathy to the girl's mother, father, her family, her doctor community, the people of her hospital, the employees, the supporters."

Source: ANI

. While the father of the deceased doctor in the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder case broke down while talking about the horrific incident, the victim's mother has made an emotional appeal to fellow countrymen.

"Through you, we want to give a message to the people of the whole country. We are grateful to all the countrymen, people of the world and the state, we request that you stand with us until the accused is caught. We only wish that this should not happen to any mother, no one should lose their child like us," she told ANI .

The father added, "This should never happen to any other human being..."

. National president of Indian Medical Association, R V Asokan in a statement on Sunday said that India is young nation with 'illiterate laws' about doctors' safety which can be amended.

"Behold the nation. Powered the movement. Doctors are not orphans. Not yet. For once everyone adopted the Doctors. 77 years of independence. We are a young nation. Illiterate laws can be amended. Doctors are a class apart in sacrifice. BNS is undersize. Deep state wouldn't agree. We invoke the right to Life. Let doctors live. Tryst with Destiny had not been redeemed in full measure. It left out the doctors. We live to fight back," the statement posted on X read.

. West Bengal Governor Dr CV Anand Bose has sought time to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Health Minister JP Nadda regarding the incident with the doctor in RG Kar, reported ANI quoting Raj Bhavan, Kolkata.

. Kolkata Raj Bhavan Media Cell in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday said, "Today Raj Bhavan contacted Medical Colleges in the State and alerted them to beef up security and ensure that women doctors and paramedics are provided adequate protection."

. In a post on X on Sunday, West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari said that he will provide free legal assistance to people getting notices from Kolkata police over social media posts regarding RG Kar College and Hospital rape-murder case.