Lucknow:

BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday said incidents of crime against women were “extremely worrying”, and asked political parties to rise above party politics and take “strict steps” to prevent them.

Her remarks come against the backdrop of the nationwide outcry over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata and also cases of rape of girls in other parts of the country.

“The incidents of rape, murder and suicide, especially of innocent girls and women, happening in Bengal, Badlapur in Maharashtra, Bihar, and Kannauj, Agra and Farrukhabad districts of Uttar Pradesh are extremely sad and worrying,” the former chief minister said on X.

1. देश में कभी बंगाल, कभी महाराष्ट्र के बदलापुर, कभी बिहार में तो कभी यूपी के कन्नौज, आगरा व फर्रूखाबाद ज़िले आदि में भी मासूम बच्चियों नाबालिग़ व महिलाओं पर ख़ासकर रेप, हत्या व आत्महत्या आदि की हो रही घटनाएं अति-दुःखद व चिन्ताजनक। 1/2

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 29, 2024

“The Centre and all state governments should rise above party politics and take strict steps in this matter so that such incidents stop happening. Politics should not be done in its guise. This is the need of the hour and also in the interest of women,” she added.

2. केन्द्र व सभी राज्य सरकारें, इस मामले में दलगत राजनीति से ऊपर उठकर सख़्त कदम उठाएं, ताकि ऐसी घटनायें जल्दी होना बन्द हो, ना कि इसकी आड़ में राजनीति की जाए, यही समय की मांग है तथा यही महिलाओं के हित में भी है। 2/2

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 29, 2024

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Three days and a midnight massacre at her Emergency Department later, RG Kar Hospital’s new principal Suhrita Pal lost her cool with the students today. As protesting doctors demanded that she take immediate action regarding the midnight mob attack and meet the students’ demands, Ms Pal retorted, “If you can’t trust me for one hour then send me home also”. 

The reference was to her predecessor Sandip Ghosh, who has been sent on a long leave by the Calcutta High Court, which was furious over his new posting less than 12 hours after his resignation.

“I need one hour to do some official work. You need to believe me, I won’t go. You have to believe me. If you can’t believe me then don’t expect anything from me,” Suhrita Pal said.

Suhrita Ghose, who was with the state government’s health department, was appointed to the post after Sandip Ghosh resigned. He was appointed Principal of the city’s top medical college – National Medical College and Hospital – the very day he resigned from RG Kar. Both appointments were with immediate effect, the government notification said. 

Mr Ghosh’s new posting remained a non-starter. Initially he got locked out of the Principal’s room by the students of National Medical College, who went on a protest immediately after the announcement. A day later, he was ordered to go on a long leave by the High Court.

At RG Kar meanwhile, the students’ protest had continued, despite the court order that the Central Bureau of Investigation take over the rape-murder case of a  31-year-old doctor that has shocked the country and triggered a furore in its hospitals.

As the planned midnight protest started across the city on August 14, RG Kar hospital was targeted by a mob of unidentified people who proceeded to wreck the protest spot, the Emergency Department and  attacked students and the police when they arrived to control the situation. Fifteen policemen were injured. 

The students have blamed the hospital authorities for failing to provide security yet again. 

The rape and murder of the young doctor at the seminar hall of the hospital on Friday morning has drawn much attention to the lack of security and proper facilities at the state-run hospital.

There have been claims that the mob had deliberately wrecked the crime scene, which the police have denied. The BJP’s Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had sent “goons” of the Trinamool College to disrupt the women’s protest rally near the hospital. 

New Delhi:

Doctors of several hospitals across India have announced an indefinite strike to protest against the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital. Doctors in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and several other cities have announced that all elective services would be halted till a probe is completed in the case. The protesters are also demanding adequate security for all medical staff.

The announcement comes days after a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata while on duty.

The body of the 32-year-old woman was found in the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in the West Bengal capital on Thursday night. The initial autopsy report stated that the victim was bleeding from her eyes, mouth and private parts. There were also injuries on her left leg, neck, right hand, ring finger and lips.

City Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal visited the medical establishment on Sunday for the second time in three days and held a meeting with representatives of agitating junior doctors.

He claimed the probe is “transparent” and urged people not to spread rumours.

Police have arrested one person in the case, a civic volunteer who is not associated with the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, but used to frequent the place.

The man, Sanjoy Roy, had returned to his place and went to sleep before washing his clothes the next morning to destroy evidence, a police officer probing the case claimed.