One Year Since R.G. Kar Murder: Kolkata Police Call on Protest Leaders for Inquiry

August 5-Kolkata, India: Ahead of the unfortunate 1st anniversary of the infamous R.G. Kar murder case on 9th August, the Kolkata Police have summoned the doctors who participated and led the protest last year.

At a time when the Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal, and other famous medical associations organized several rallies to mark the first anniversary of the RG Kar rape and murder case, they called upon these physicians.

Doctors Summoned by the Kolkata Police

Regarding the three cases filed the previous year, the Kolkata police have called in various junior and senior doctors like Subarna Goswami, Manas Gupta, Kinjal Nanda, Kaushik Chaki, and Debashish Haldar.

The Former General Secretary of Health Service Doctors (AHSD), West Bengal, Manas Gupta, highlighted the situation and said, “The state administration’s move reflected its vindictiveness and aimed to issue a threat to the doctors’ fraternity to refrain from carrying out further protest movements on the issue in the coming days.”

Gupta further added that ‘the state government tried to scare them by sending that summons, after becoming frightened by last year’s massive protest movements, and that the police wanted to intimidate them. He expressed surprise that someone sent the summons merely for taking part in protest rallies and questioned whether this was acceptable in a democracy, asking if the government had the right to dictate whether a person could participate in a protest movement. He strongly condemned what he described as the vindictiveness of the state government and its police administration.’

Police sources indicate that someone used three case numbers 259, 261, and 263—to send the summons. Someone filed complaint number 259 regarding the parade from Calcutta Medical College and Hospital to Dorina Crossing in central Kolkata. Their protest movement during last year’s Durga Puja procession was the subject of case number 261. A gathering on Maha Ashtami on the metro channel in central Kolkata was the subject of case number 263.

JPD on the Issue

Various members of famous organizations, including the Association of Health Service Doctors, Medical Service Centre, West Bengal Doctors’ Forum and Service Doctors connected to the All-India Democratic Students’ Organization (AIDSO), organized several protest movements calling for justice and a fair investigation. Later, West Bengal’s Joint Platform of Doctors (JPD) joined the movement as well.

Punyabrata Goon, the  convenor of JPD criticised the Kolkata Police and called the summon as pitiful. He stated that “The state government is trying its best and resorting to such tactics to stifle the voice of protest. We have no words to condemn this. By doing this, more people and doctors will hit the streets and join in our protest.”