Even as the mass protests across West Bengal intensified over the gruesome rape and murder of a junior woman doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, senior doctors on Monday accused the police of creating fear among the protestors and agitators.
Kolkata police summoned two prominent doctors--Kunal Sarkar and Subarna Goswami--and two senior politicians--Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee-- to answer allegations that they revealed the victim’s identity and spread misinformation on social media. Apart from these four people, the police also issued summons to over 50 others for allegedly spreading wrong information about the incident.
While the two doctors, Sarkar and Goswami, appeared before the police on Monday at Lalbazar police headquarters, Trinamool’s Roy moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the notice sent to him.
After coming out from the police headquarters, Kunal Sarkar said, ”The police talked to us sincerely. But we have not supported the police decision to summon us. We have informed the police that they cannot summon doctors like that.”
“We want justice for that young doctor, and we have not committed any crime,” Sarkar added.
Goswami said doctors across the country condemned the Kolkata police move to ask them to appear at the police headquarters. “The medical fraternity is angry with the police. They have failed to find out the real culprits behind the heinous crime. We are always there to help the Kolkata police in this matter. But they cannot summon doctors,” Goswami added.
Agitating doctors
Earlier, in the day, hundreds of doctors, including Sarkar and Goswami, staged a protest rally against the rape and murder of the on-duty doctor at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The agitating doctors alleged that the police were harassing Sarkar and Goswami to create fear among the medical fraternity. “But it will not work. More the police try to create fear among us, more we stage agitations against the gruesome rape and murder,” Goswami told the media before vising the police headquarters.
Advocates of the Calcutta High Court held a separate protest march in Kolkata. “No mercy to rapist” and “Punish the real culprits”, read placards carried by several women advocates who were part of the march to protest against the rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor.
The body of the junior doctor was found in the seminar room of the RG Kar Medical College on August 9.
On Monday, several former students of the state-run hospital joined the protest. A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) visited the residence of the victim.
The Calcutta High Court on August 13 transferred the investigation in the case to the CBI. The central investigating agency took custody of the prime accused, Sanjay Roy, a Kolkata Police civic volunteer and started questioning him.
The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the case. A three-judge Bench presided by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud will hear the matter on Tuesday.