Today, On 20th August, The Calcutta High Court granted the BJP permission to hold demonstrations for five days in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a doctor. The court’s decision came after the BJP sought approval for protests against what it claims is the state government’s failure to ensure law and order.
Calcutta: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday granted permission to the West Bengal BJP to hold a five-day demonstration near Shyambazar metro station in Kolkata, starting from August 21, to protest the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The state’s counsel argued for limiting the protest to a single day, citing concerns about public inconvenience due to an extended sit-in. On the other hand, the BJP’s lawyer requested a six-day protest starting Wednesday.
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After considering both sides, Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj allowed the BJP to proceed with their five-day demonstration at the specified location, which is approximately half a kilo meter from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The court set conditions, limiting participation to 300 people and restricting the protest hours to between 12 noon and 9 pm daily, from Wednesday through Sunday.
The incident that sparked the protest involved the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor while she was on duty at the state-run hospital on August 9. The case has generated widespread outrage, leading to protests by medical professionals across the country, who are demanding justice for the victim and calling for stronger workplace security measures.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the investigation from Kolkata Police, following an order by the Calcutta High Court last week.
The 31-year-old doctor murdered in the early hours of August 9. After a gruelling 36-hour shift, the second-year postgraduate student had gone to rest in an empty seminar room on Thursday night, as the hospital lacked an on-call room. She apparently fell asleep there.
Her partially clothed body, bearing multiple injuries, discovered the next morning.
The prime suspect, Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police assigned to the outpost at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, had access to all hospital departments. He arrested based on CCTV footage that captured him entering the building where the doctor found murdered. A Bluetooth headset, seen around his neck in the footage, was found near the victim’s body and was later confirmed to be paired with his phone.