Parents of RG Kar rape-murder victim join night vigil, students hold torch procession

Kolkata: Parents of the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at R G Kar Hospital on August 9 last year joined a night-long vigil held at Shyambazar on Friday.

The vigil began after a torch procession taken out by junior doctors and general public in memory of the late medic.

The torch procession, organised at the call of West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front, started from College Street near the Calcutta University main campus and culminated 5 km away at Shyambazar near the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.

"I know that nothing will compensate the loss of our daughter. We only demand justice for her," the father of the murdered doctor said, addressing the gathering at Shyambazar junction.

The father said it is unbelievable that one man could have committed such a brutal crime and alleged that there were others who were involved in the crime and conspiracy.

He accused both the state and Central governments of not doing the needful to get justice for his daughter.

Stating that they met top CBI officers in Delhi on Thursday, he claimed that the Central agency was putting in scant efforts.

He also accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of not working in the interest of justice or the common people.

"She is not comfortable with the ongoing protests. As such, she is not saying anything more on the matter," the father said. Banerjee had visited the victim's parents at their home a few days after the crime.

Before the sit-in at Shyambazar, the participants of the torch march held placards calling for the arrest and punishment of all those involved in the gruesome crime, which saw protests erupting across the country.

Slogans of "we want justice" reverberated in the air as the rally proceeded.

Many wore black headbands with "have not forgotten, will not forget" written on them, while some participants held the national flag in their hands.

A large number of people gathered in solidarity on the sides of the roads through which the procession passed.

Many of the participants, after reaching Shyambazar, stayed put there to take part in the night-long vigil demanding justice for the murdered doctor.

Protest meets and processions demanding justice for the victim were held at various places in and around Kolkata, including Netajinagar in the south to Sodepur in the northern outskirts of the city.

The body of the on-duty doctor was found in the seminar room of the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024.

A march to Nabanna, the state secretariat in Howrah city, has been called in the names of the parents of the victim. It was claimed that the protest march will be apolitical with participation from the civil society.

The West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front has also called a protest meeting on Saturday evening in front of R G Kar hospital.

The parents of the victim doctor, maintaining that only one person could not commit such a gruesome crime, are demanding that anyone else involved be identified and brought to book by the CBI, which is holding further investigation into alleged conspiracy angle in the crime.