More than 20 days after the rape and murder of a doctor at the R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, protests continued to rock the city on Friday (Augus with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s women’s wing putting a giant-sized model of a lock on the gate of the West Bengal State Women’s Commission. The BJP said the commission has neither made any statement nor taken any proactive steps after the violent crime.
Reiterating her request for stringent Central laws against crimes of sexual assault, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday again wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that she received no reply from the Prime Minister for her previous letter.
Also read: Kolkata Protests Highlights on August 30, 2024
“You may kindly recall my letter No. 44-CM dated August 22, 2024 (copy enclosed) regarding the need for stringent central legislation on incidents of rape and meting out exemplary punishment to perpetrators of such crime. No reply was received from your end on such a sensitive issue,” Ms. Banerjee wrote in the letter.
Referring to a letter by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi, the Chief Minister said that it “barely attends the gravity of the issue” raised by her. Ms. Devi had said that only six exclusive POCSO Courts have been operationalised in the State till June 2024. The Trinamool Congress chairperson in her letter referred to fast-track courts and helpline numbers in the State.
“Regarding Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), 10 exclusive POCSO Courts have been approved by the State Government. In addition to this, 88 FTSCs and 62 POCSO designated Courts are functioning throughout the State on complete State funding,” Ms. Banerjee wrote in her letter. The West Bengal Legislative Assembly has called for a session of Assembly next week to pass a Bill with provisions of a capital punishment against those convicted of rape.
Kolkata, West Bengal, Union Minister of State for Education and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar with BJP leaders siting in second day dharna at Esplanade in protest against the rape and murder of a medic at the R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, in Kolkata on August 30, 2024 | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
On Friday, several leaders of the BJP Mahila Morcha led by MLA Agnimitra Paul, former MP Locket Chatterjee and former Union Minister Debasree Choudhury, protested outside the women’s commission office. The BJP leaders went inside and met members of the commission. The West Bengal BJP leadership held protests at Esplanade with State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar leading a sit-in demonstration. Protests were organised by members of the civil society who spoke against the attempts to politicise the issue.
In another development, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Purba Medinipur, sent notices to 29 clinics and hospitals in the district for violating The Clinical Establishment Act. Doctors from these clinics and health establishment have been protesting. Notices were sent to 93 doctors at Midnapore Hospital for allegedly violating the Act. This comes a day after Ms. Banerjee clarified that she did not threaten protesting resident doctors at a public meeting on August 28. Resident doctors have been on strike since August 9.
Also, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal seeking a report on the “barbaric” and “brutal” assault on the protesters during the ‘March to Nabanna’ on August 27. The notice was issued on the basis of a complaint filed by a protester and the NHRC sought an “action taken” report from the police in 14 days.
The Kolkata Police held a press conference releasing photographs of the seminar room, the scene of the crime, trying to highlight that area was well cordoned off. After a video emerged showing several persons huddled inside the room, the Kolkata Police has been issuing clarifications that the scene of the crime was well-preserved.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh hit out hit out at prominent names of Bengali film industry. He said Bengali film personalities who stand around Ms. Banerjee and share stage with her have not made any comments on the controversial movie “The Diary of West Bengal” that portrays the State in a “bad light”.
Published - August 30, 2024 10:14 pm IST
