Participating in the second “Reclaim the Night” mass movement demanding justice in the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case, thousands of women marched through the streets and formed human chains in Kolkata and other districts of West Bengal on Wednesday.

Women from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds hit the streets on the evening, holding banners and placards with powerful messages and screaming slogans such as, “We want justice” and “Stop Violence against Women”.

The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front, which has been spearheading the medicos’ protests over the rape and murder of the young doctor at the RG Kar hospital, organised a peaceful protest named ‘Let there be light, Let there be Justice’. As the protesting doctors called for a candlelight vigil, demonstrators held flaming torches and candles during the marches across the State.

Earlier in the day, several lawyers formed human chains outside the Calcutta High Court and Bankshall Court in Kolkata, seeking justice for the young doctor. They also held placards and shouted slogans outside the court buildings.

Nationwide outrage

The body of the postgraduate trainee was found in the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the city on August 9. The incident has triggered nationwide outrage, with protesters from various walks of life taking out rallies, seeking justice for the medic.

Kolkata witnessed the first “Reclaim the Night” protest on August 14, when thousands of demonstrators, mostly women, flooded the streets, holding candles and shouting slogans.

The West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a State anti-rape Bill, seeking capital punishment for rape convicts if their actions result in the victim’s death or leave her in a vegetative state.

The Bill, titled ‘Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024,’ proposed to amend the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 laws and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 in their application to the state to make punishment for rape and child abuse more stringent.

PTI adds: Former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Calcutta High Court order dismissing his plea to be added as a party to a petition alleging financial irregularities at the institute during his tenure.