Kolkata Murder-Rape Case: Nine people have been arrested following an outbreak of violence at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata early Thursday morning. The violence occurred during a protest against the horrific rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital the previous week.
The incident began late Wednesday night when a vigil titled “Women, Reclaim the Night” was organized by women in Kolkata and across the country. During the vigil, which started around 11 PM, a group of people entered the hospital premises and began vandalizing property. Vehicles were attacked, public property was damaged, and the police had to resort to lathicharge and teargas to control the situation. Fifteen policemen were reported injured.
Pronoy Das, a security guard at the hospital, who was on duty when the incident took place, said, “Around 1 am last night when about 500-1,000 people came here. We locked the gate here, but they broke it down. We went to another gate, but they broke down that too. They were too many, we were 10-12 people and the Police. So we were no match. They barged in and vandalised the property. They have damaged everything, from computers to medicines. They damaged even the CCTV cameras.”
On Thursday morning, the Kolkata Police released photos of individuals believed to have participated in the mob and sought information on them. The photos were shared on social media, with the faces of the suspected vandals circled. The arrests were announced later in the day. Although the identities of those arrested have not been disclosed, Dr. Anubhav Mondal, a protester at the hospital, stated that he was among those circled in the photographs.
“Our protests will continue and grow stronger. Those who think they can intimidate us will fail. We demand justice at any cost, with a neutral investigation monitored by the court,” Dr. Mondal told NDTV. Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police dismissed claims circulating on social media that the seminar hall, where the trainee doctor was raped and murdered, was also vandalized. The police warned against spreading unverified information, stating, “The crime scene is the seminar room, and it has not been touched. Don’t spread unverified news. We will take legal action against those spreading rumors,” they posted on X.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose visited the hospital on Thursday, offering support to the doctors and medical students who expressed feeling insecure and traumatized following the incidents. “I am with you. We will fight this and not allow such ghastly acts. We will take exemplary action,” the governor assured the doctors.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the investigation into the rape and murder on Tuesday, has met with the family of the victim. The body of the trainee doctor was discovered last Friday, and an autopsy revealed multiple injuries were inflicted on her before she was smothered to death, with the time of death estimated between 3 and 5 AM. The police have already arrested a civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, who is now in CBI custody.
The victim’s parents have informed the Calcutta High Court that evidence indicates she was gang-raped, as 150 mg of semen was found on her body. “No action has been taken to arrest other suspects, despite evidence clearly indicating that this was a gang rape and murder that could not have been committed by one person alone,” the parents stated in their petition.