Friday, 20 September 2024
Friday, 20 September 2024
Night-long sit-in for justice
On Sunday night, thousands of protesters, including prominent film personalities from Tollywood and rights activists, gathered for a night-long sit-in at Esplanade in central Kolkata. The protest was organised to demand justice for the postgraduate trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The protest, similar to the Reclaim the Night event held on August 14, continued till 4 am on Monday, with participants vowing to stay until their demands for a faster investigation and arrest of the culprits were met.
Mega Rally by Tollywood
The protest began with a mega rally at College Square in north Kolkata, where actors and other well-known figures from the Bengali film industry, including Aparna Sen, Swastika Mukherjee, and Sohini Sarkar, led the march along Central Avenue. The rally saw widespread participation, with the protesters shouting slogans like 'Justice' and 'Halla Bol' as they marched through several parts of Kolkata, including the busy Jawaharlal Nehru Road-SN Banerjee Road crossing, before meeting at Esplanade for the sit-in.
Unmet demands
During the sit-in, the protesters had set a deadline of 4 am for the state administration to address their demands, which included a thorough investigation into the doctor's death and the arrest of those responsible.
"We had given the 4 am deadline to the administration for addressing our demand...But we did not hear anything from any state department - police, health and women and child welfare,” film director Birsa Dasgupta told PTI.
"At the start of the dharna, we had sent separate mails to these departments, urging them to send representatives to listen to our grievances. Not a single state representative responded or turned up at the venue.”
Determination to continue protests
Actor Sohini Sarkar said that the participants would discuss their next steps. She added that the movement would not end with the sit-in and that the protest stage set up at Esplanade would not be removed.
Justice and safety of women
Swastika Mukherjee, another leading actor at the forefront of the protest, called for "azadi from abuse" and demanded strict punishment for those convicted of rape.
"Our protests will become stronger from now and will continue. There will be relaxation during Durga Puja as so many poor people are dependent on this festival," the actor told PTI.
She added: "Arresting everyone in the RG Kar case is crucial for the safety of every woman."
National protest and ongoing investigation
The rape and murder of the trainee doctor has led to nationwide outrage, with widespread calls for justice. One person, a civic volunteer attached to the Kolkata Police, is the lone arrest so far. Following public protests, the Calcutta high court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the investigation. The CBI has not yet made a single additional arrest.
