Kolkata protesters to ‘reclaim the night’ on 14 August anniversary of RG Kar rape and murder
Kolkata, India–Streets in Kolkata and nearby districts are set to fill once again on the night of August 14 as activists, doctors, and citizens mark the first anniversary of the rape and murder of a young trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Under the banner Raat Dokhol – or Reclaim the Night – organisers say the demonstrations will run from 9pm on August 14 until dawn on Independence Day, echoing the mass vigils that swept West Bengal last year after the killing. “We will raise our voice for women’s rights and demand justice for our beloved daughter,” said Shatabdi Das, convener of the Raat Dokhol Oikko Mancha, a coalition of rights groups and cultural organisations. “Songs, plays, and films will help carry our message.” The Joint Platform of Doctors (JPD) says vigils will take place in Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, and Hooghly. “The people will once again reclaim the night and fill the streets with their demand,” said JPD convenor Dr Punyabrata Goon. Left-wing youth groups, including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), have announced sit-ins, marches, and overnight protests. DYFI state secretary Dhrubajyoti Saha said members were prepared to relaunch continuous demonstrations if justice remains elusive. The killing on August 9, 2024, shocked India and sparked criticism of authorities over the investigation. Activists allege the victim’s body was removed without the family’s consent and cremated hastily, fuelling public anger. For organisers, this year’s events are both a memorial and a message: that women’s safety remains a fight waged in the open, and the night belongs to them.
RG Kar PGT rape and murder case protesters demonstrate outside CBI office
Representatives of the ‘Abhaya Mancha’, a doctors’ forum formed after the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case last year, on Friday took out a rally in front of the CBI’s office at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake. The protesters, holding broomsticks, alleged that the “delay” in the CBI’s probe into the case was because they were working in cahoots with the state government. “The CBI is working on an understanding with the state government. Even after so many months since the crime took place in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, they are yet to come out with any conclusion of the matter,” claimed Abhaya Mancha’s joint convenor Tamonas Chaudhuri. An on-duty post-graduate trainee was raped and murdered inside the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital here on August 9 last year, triggering outrage across the country. The Kolkata Police arrested one person, and the CBI, which took over the investigation on a Calcutta High Court order, also made him the sole accused in the case. The trial court on 20 January sentenced the accused Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death. The central agency is continuing its investigation into the alleged conspiracy angle of the case. Incidentally, two programmes related to the crime are scheduled to take place in Kolkata on 9 August to mark one year since the incident. On that day, a procession is scheduled to march to Kalighat, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee resides. ‘Abhaya Mancha’ members would observe ‘Raksha Bandhan’ on 9 August , and on 14 August, the forum has called for a ‘Reclaim the Night’ march across Kolkata and the adjoining suburban areas from 9 pm to midnight.
