One year of Kolkata Rape and Murder: About 100 Protesters Injured in Police Lathi Charge

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Aug 9: About 100 protesters, including the mother of the victim trainee doctor were injured as the police attempted to stop thousands of protesters who descended on the streets of Kolkata on Saturday aiming to march to “Nabanna,” the West Bengal government secretariat, demanding “justice” for the 31-year old victim who was raped and murdered on this day last year in the seminar hall of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Backed by the opposition BJP, the call for the protest march was given by the parents of the victim who had time and again stated that they were not satisfied with the investigation into the case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) leading to the arrest and conviction of civic police volunteer Sanjay Roy for the crime, to mark one year of the gruesome crime. The protesters were seen carrying the tri-colour besides posters and banners demanding justice for the victim and the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Massive police deployments, along with RAF personnel and even water cannons, were been made at all the strategic points in Kolkata and Howrah where the progress of the agitators were to be halted. The parents of the R G Kar victim including BJP leaders remained camped on the streets at several strategic positions leading to the State Secretariat.

The protest march was backed by the opposition BJP to keep the scar alive in view of the state Assembly elections next year. The young doctor’s rape-murder at the state-run RG Kar hospital last year had shaken the country, prompting doctors across the nation to voice their concerns and go on a strike. Sanjay Roy was convicted by the special CBI court in the case this January and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The parents of the victim, however, were not convinced with the trial. The parents claimed first Kolkata Police and now the CBI, was trying to shield culprits who tortured and killed their daughter. They had met the CBI Director Praveen Sood in Delhi earlier this week and expressed their dissatisfaction with the agency’s probe in the rape-murder of their daughter.

“From day one, we have said there was more than one person. She was a strong girl. There is no way only one man could have done this inside such a secure building. All the early cover-ups point to a bigger nexus,” the victim’s mother had said Sunday. Her father alleged that attempts were made to destroy evidence. “There were three bodies at the crematorium that day. Yet our daughter’s body was cremated first. Why the hurry? Steps were taken to wipe out evidence,” he alleged.

Back in Kolkata, they took out a massive rally to Nabanna, hoping to meet the Chief Minister. Sensing a massive turnout, the police had made tight security arrangements along the route, especially in Howrah district where Nabanna is located.

The rally descended into chaos as protesters attempted to break through the barricades and tried to march towards the secretariat despite police warnings, and were lathi-charged by the police. The protesters, however, ignored warnings and clashed with the cops at multiple points. At Santragachi in Howrah, they tried to breach the iron wall barricades and were lathi-charged. They were lathi-charged at the Park Street crossing too as they tried to proceed towards the Vidyasagar Setu that links Howrah.

The BJP claimed at least 100 protesters were injured in the police action while Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly, and other BJP MLAs staged a protest at Park Street-Jawaharlal Nehru Road crossing.

The father and mother of the doctor reached Park Street area in the heart of Kolkata accompanied by the BJP leaders. The police resorted to baton charge to disperse the crowd near Park Street in the city. The victim’s mother said the lady police personnel hit her with batons and she suffered injuries on her hand. “Police assaulted me. They also broke my bangles,” she said. The father also said he too was attacked by the police.

“Why are they stopping us? All we want is to reach secretariat and seek justice for my daughter,” the victim’s mother questioned. Her husband alleged that despite having a court permission for the rally, they were stopped from joining the march.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari along with other BJP leaders participated in the protest march. “They have attacked parents of the victim. This is people of the State versus Mamata,” Mr Adhikari said. The BJP leader said about 100 persons have sustained injuries in the attack and 18 persons had to be admitted in the hospital.

On Thursday, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court while hearing a petition for the prohibition of ‘Nabanna Abhijaan’ (march to Nabanna), held that the right to protest is a fundamental right. However, the Court order on August 7 also noted that “it will be open for the Government to implement the said prohibitory order in accordance with law and inform the organizers about adequate alternative place for protest. The West Bengal Police had said they will enforce prohibitory orders which is already enforced around the State Secretariat.

On August 9 last year, the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee’s body was discovered inside the Chest Medicine Department’s seminar hall on the fourth floor of the hospital’s emergency building. The nature of her injuries, which indicated brutality, and the fact that it happened within a state-run hospital, sent shock waves across West Bengal and beyond.

Widespread protests erupted across campuses, drawing students, doctors, and civil society to the streets. The Kolkata police initially investigated the case, before the Calcutta High Court transferred the probe to the CBI. A civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, was found guilty of rape and murder by a Kolkata court in January 2025, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. But the victim’s family and several rights activists insist the case is far from closed.

Two other arrests followed — Sandip Ghosh, the then principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and Abhijit Mondal, former officer-in-charge of Tala police station, on charges of misleading the probe. But Mondal was released on bail after the CBI failed to file a charge sheet within 90 days.

Sanjay Roy was handed life term by Additional District and Sessions Judge in Sealdah, Anirban Das. The court had also ordered Roy to pay a fine of ₹50,000 and directed the state government to pay compensation of ₹17 lakh to the family of the deceased. Judge Das stated that the crime did not fall under the “rarest of the rare” category, which justified the decision to not impose the death penalty on the convict.

Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was found guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing death), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The CBI challenged the order saying the case was indeed a ‘rarest of rare’ incident in which death penalty would be an appropriate punishment for Roy.

RG Kar Hospital is a key landmark in Kolkata. Surrounded by busy roads, chatters of college goers and honking buses, the hospital caters to a huge population residing in the city’s north as well as from across West Bengal. Days aren’t much different than the nights here, as is the case with such big hospitals. A few shops would stay open even at midnight, especially near the emergency ward, to cater to the relatives of those waiting the hospital overnight. Tea-points dotted the hospital gates, selling midnight snacks.

The scene remains almost same, perhaps even more crowded. One stark difference is a massive police presence, including women cops, in the hospital complex.  Personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) – tasked with the hospital’s security in the wake of the 2024 rape-murder – are present too.