West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has termed the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata as a " very big crime" and called for the accused to be hanged. Her remarks followed incidents of vandalism and rampage outside RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the crime took place. The hospital was targeted by a large mob during ongoing protests demanding increased safety for women. The situation at the medical college has sparked widespread outrage and demonstrations across the city.
Speaking about the incident, the Chief Minister said, "As far as the information I have, I will not blame the students... The incident is very unfortunate, we still say that they should be hung... We have given all the documents, till the time our police were investigating, nothing was leaked..." "My and the people of Bengal's condolences are with the victim's family... This is a very big crime, and the only punishment for it is that the accused should be hung, if the culprit is hanged then only people will learn a lesson from it but no innocent should be punished..." she added.
Mamata accuses CPI(M), BJP for incident
The Bengal Chief Minister also accused the CPI(M) and BJP of orchestrating the vandalism at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to create unrest in the state. In response, the BJP criticized the state administration for its failure to protect the protesting doctors and prevent the violence. The saffron party demanded that the army be deployed if the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government is unable to control the situation. Notably, the political blame game has intensified amid ongoing protests and public outcry over the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata.
CBI probing the case
Meanwhile, the CBI is probing the case and it has requested the call details of the civic volunteer. The central agency also met with the victim's family members, and questioned the officer-in-charge of Tala police station, which has jurisdiction over the area where the incident took place. Meanwhile, healthcare services in the state have remained crippled for seven days in a row due to the cease-work by junior doctors demanding justice for their colleague, with emergency and outpatient departments in most state-run hospitals still closed, causing significant distress among patients.
Kolkata doctor rape-murder case
It should be noted here that a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty at the hospital on August 9. Later, the semi-naked body of the 32-year-old woman was found in the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in Kolkata. A civic volunteer was arrested in connection with the crime the next day. Following this, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the probe into the case from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
(With PTI inputs)
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