Thousands of people walked through south Calcutta on Sunday afternoon protesting the rape and murder of the junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, not raising loud slogans but showing a firm and silent resolve.
The march call was given by the alumni of Ramakrishna Mission. Most of the marchers were former students of institutions run by the Mission. But many were not. Some of them received diksha from the mission. Many others joined in as just citizens.
The solemn march had songs and hymns being played in the background.
Police said more than 2,500 people joined the march. According to the organisers, the turnout was close to 5,000.
The rally started from the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, and culminated at Nandan, covering a distance of over 5km. The marchers, who passed through Gariahat, Rashbehari Avenue, Hazra and Bhowanipore, observed a moment’s silence after reaching Nandan.
The marchers, most of them wearing black, were from different age groups and various walks of life.
Dilip Mirani, 74, a former student of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur, came from Sonarpur. Mirani, who retired from a Calcutta-headquartered PSU bank, was “aghast at the scale of rumour-mongering on social media”.
He wants the CBI to “expedite” the investigation. “It is no secret that the CBI is often used as a political tool. The agency must rise above politics and ensure a speedy probe,” he said.
Abhradeep Chakraborty, 22, who cleared Madhyamik from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia, is “stunned” at the RG Kar brutality.
“The worst part is that we cannot say that a crime like this will not happen again. But we must come out and protest,” said Chakraborty, who is now pursuing a BTech in mechanical engineering from IIEST, Shibpur.
Srijon Ghosh, of the 2006 Madhyamik batch of RKM Narendrapur, felt that the people’s movement that the RG Kar brutality has triggered must remain apolitical to succeed.
“There is a concerted effort to dilute the movement. The Nabanna march (August 27) and bandh (August 28) were examples of that effort,” he said.
Ghosh, who works with an information technology company, said the probe has to produce results. “So far we have nothing beyond one arrest.”
The marchers braved showers and soaring humidity. Clothes soaked in sweat, they kept walking.
Somnath Banerjee, a former student of RKM Ashrama, Ramharipur, Bankura, and now a data scientist, was “certain that evidence was tampered with”.
“Why was the murder labelled as suicide? Who is the government trying to shield?” he asked.
Rajasree Chatterjee, a teacher from Kalikapur, said: “I have come as a citizen. I still have faith in our judicial process. I believe the CBI can crack the case.”
Among the marchers was CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, who cleared his Madhyamik (1977) and higher secondary (1979) from RKM Narendrapur.
“The core issue here is the lack of workplace security for women. We must not forget that,” said Bhattacharya.
Bhattacharya was mighty impressed with the “reclaim the night” campaign.
“Normally, you would expect such a campaign to emerge from a Jadavpur University or a Presidency and remain confined there. But this movement has spread everywhere. This is something huge. We have to build on them,” said Bhattacharya.
