RG tragedy: Aggressive protests only alternative now, feel junior doctors and victim’s father

Renewed and aggressive protests on the streets are the only alternative now to get justice for the Kolkata-based R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital doctor who became the victim of a brutal rape and murder within the hospital premises in August this year, opined the junior doctors as well as parents of the victim on Saturday.

Their realisation comes in the wake of the failure of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in filing a charge sheet within 90 days against two individuals accused of tampering evidence in the rape and murder case, following which a special court in Kolkata, on Friday, granted "default bail" to former and controversial R.G. Kar principal Sandip Ghosh and former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal.

On Saturday, West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), the umbrella body spearheading the movement on this issue, brought out a protest rally to CBI’s special crime unit office at CGO complex Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, which was attended by the victim’s father.

“More aggressive protests on the streets are the only way left for us. We have to hit the streets again on a daily basis again as we had been doing before,” the victim’s father said. He said that he had been apprehensive of Ghosh and Mondal getting bail since he and his family were not happy with the progress of the investigation by the CBI.

The victim’s father also said that his family is also considering legal options on whether the decision of the lower court can be challenged at a higher court or not.

A leading face of the junior doctor’s movement on the issue Debasish Halder said he is happy that thousands of common people have joined them in the protest rally. “We are organising this protest to give a message to CBI that the legal system cannot be turned into a farcical exercise in such a manner. We want to send the message that the common people are with us and in the coming days we will be going for bigger protests,” he said.

Already WBJDF leadership has hinted that they might resume their cease-work protests which they withdrew keeping the larger public interest in mind.