On August 9th, the body of a 31-year-old doctor was found with multiple injuries at a seminar hall at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. After a 36-hour shift, the tired doctor had gone to rest during the night shift. She was attacked, raped and subjected to intense torture resulting in multiple injuries and later murdered sparking outrage across the country.

Dr. Christina Mary P. Paul who is the Professor and HOD, Department of Community Medicine at a leading medical college says,“It was very scary as a doctor, as a human being and as a woman to hear about this. Prima facie evidence that’s, there’s clearly a homicide but could not be perpetrated by one person. The victim is on the upper side of normal and the accused is skinny. If he had to hold her, stop her from screaming and running and then rape her at the same time, is it possible for one human being to do that? That too in an intoxicated state? In that state, anyone will be physically much weaker.

“I have a feeling that they could have been under some substance but not alcohol, maybe enhancing drugs as nobody in their right mind can do this. What makes it really suspicious is them trying to build a case against Sanjay Roy based on his past saying he watched pornography, he married so many times, he caused miscarriage in his third wife and his mother-in-law asks to hang him, none of this is relevant to this case, I think they should just stick to the facts in this case. The fact that they are trying to build a case so hard, in my eyes, it makes it really weak.

“There are so many things that are not adding up. Some non-medical person, a female had called the parents and said that it was a suicide. Also there is the question of so many doctors surrounding a dead body, and then calling up the police inspector and saying, she’s unconscious. There was a follow-up crime too, there was tampering of the crime scene as the police didn’t secure the crime scene for more than 18 hours.

“As per the National Medical Commission’s order, they are supposed to have 25 cameras in place with live footage being sent to Delhi constantly. They are saying there is some video footage of the man entering the seminar room, but
why just one camera?

“The police had forced the parents to quickly cremate the body and in the absence of the body the lie detector tests should be done on everyone working that night not just the Dean.

“Women being stopped from night shifts is no solution at all and the National Medical Commission will not agree to that, because the final year of medicine is fully residential. I don’t see it as a nighttime crime because it can happen in the daytime too. There are so many norms with regards to working in a medical college, so if this can happen in a medical college, I’m just wondering what is the safety for women in other setups, because the other setups don’t have these.

“I think society as a whole should change, the way they look at women itself should change. I’m only worried about the repercussions that this incident will have on women. Will we be again put in our corners, saying that the world is not safe for us? This is not freedom that we got easily. We had to work very hard for it, so I’m worried about that aspect, actually, are they again going to say women need protection. A man commits a crime, a woman pays the price.”

Sreemoyee Piu Kundu is an author and acclaimed lifestyle journalist who has worked with leading publications like Times of India, India Today, Midday and The Asian Age. Her debut first novel Faraway Music in 2013 was critically lauded and was followed by her bestselling feminist erotica, Sita’s Curse. She is also the s the founder of the community, Status Single for single women,

Sreemoyee says,“I have lived in Kolkata for the most part of my childhood. I moved out of the city when I was 21 and moved back when I was 41. Speaking of this horrifying incident, I think definitely this is not just a failure of the law-and-order situation. I think there is also a large amount of political pressure to conceal certain facts of the case. I don’t understand why the former Principal Sandip Ghosh has not been arrested. He was probably the kingpin and what is being said to be an organ racket, porn racket and a chemical waste-based racket, somehow the only focus has now become the rape.

“There is a lot of unemployment in West Bengal, there are no jobs. I see a lot of them taking to acts of sexual abuse or crime. It also shows how closely the political machinery is also protecting such law breakers. If you look at the history of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the last couple of years, many doctors have died mysteriously and some have committed suicide. Clearly there was something cooking there and as is being alleged maybe she was a whistleblower, and it was to basically cover up the larger rot, she was put through such as heinous crime.

“It does not matter if it happened in Bengal or in a village in Haryana. I feel very doubtful about the security measures for women in our country because most of the time the people put in power to protect us, they are the ones who actually violate our modesty.

“Imagine a doctor who is a healer, who is an angel to her patients after a 36-hour shift she is brutally raped and murdered. It has just gone to show that rape has become a culture, rape is used as a punishment to women. Even after this rape, people were searching on porn sites for this girl’s details, unfortunately many people had leaked her name and her pictures were circulating which is so disrespectful. It just shows that our consciousness has broken down.

“The protests have given me a lot of hope, I see a lot of men who have joined the protests and I feel there are lot of good people still in the world. Sexual predators have also joined the protest though, Tollywood actors and producers who are known to be womanisers, who are known to exploit women. It’s very sad that Mamta Banerjee gives 10 lakhs and Sourav Ganguly an icon says it’s a stray incident and after that he and his daughter are putting candles and walking so there’s a lot of jingoism, a lot of superficiality milking this moment for their own social media validation which is unfortunate.

“The aftermath is that men and women are taking to the streets and joining hands, all this gives us hope that we will not rest until justice is served. This nexus between medical institutions and political goons says if you are rich or politically well-connected you can get away with anything. Today, if a Minister’s or CM’s daughter is raped, I would like to see whether they will be so callous and insensitive or lackadaisical. Every Indian should hang their head in shame that this is the condition of women in our country, what are we talking about Beti Bachao and Beti Padao. CM is giving 85000 for community poojas and for what? When a woman in her workplace is raped, beaten and murdered, how can you even celebrate Durga Puja this year? It’s an anomaly.

“Things can be better by demanding accountability from our politicians. How can the CM of a state write a letter to Narendra Modi when her own house is not in order. Things can be better if we stop voting MLAs and MPs with criminal records and they are not given tickets. Though this is a rape and murder it’s because we had a corrupt system at the hospital.

“Many are saying the victim got to know was a whistleblower and she had to pay the price. Why was the FIR filed so late? Why were her parents informed that it was a case of suicide? What are the findings of the polygraph test? Everything is covered in mystery and you can make out that politics are at play.

“Just by saying women should not be given night shift is not the answer. There are women who are nursing staff and emergency doctors, there are women in travel and tourism, hospitality and media where they work late. Why should they stop women from working? Lot of women doctors in my Status Single community are infuriated, humiliated and absolutely disgusted with the way the working conditions do not support women’s safety and equality and they are out on the streets protesting. They have a lot of rage, they feel the CM should resign and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and many other politicians. It takes ages to get justice.”

B. Rabu Manohar, Advocate, Senior Central Government Panel Counsel, Government of India says, “This is a clear cut case of rape and murder of a doctor ( public servant ) on duty. The onus is on the State Government of Bengal, since Law and Order is the state subject under List 2 of the Constitution.

“Only the investigation by the CBI would reveal whether there was a larger conspiracy to the occurrence. The High Court of Calcutta has rightly transferred the investigation to the CBI & the CBI has started the investigation.

“The Supreme Court has Sue Motto taken up the case and castigated the state government for its lapses. It has directed the CBI to file a status report of the investigation. The involvement of the drug mafia is too early to comment since the investigation is in the crucial stage.

“The case on hand attracts punishment u/s 66 of the Bharatya Nyaya Sahita (BNS) warranting a minimum punishment of 20 years rigorous imprisonment to the maximum imprisonment for the rest of their life. The case was registered first by the police as unnatural death by the West Bengal police. Later, it was converted to one under rape and murder. Inquest has been conducted on the body of the deceased.

“The Postmortem report reveals multiple grievous injuries on the body of the deceased. Her eyes were bleeding, pelvic bone broken and 151 gms semen found in the vagina of the deceased. This looks like a gang rape.

“The investigation has to collect eyewitnesses for the crime and nab the accused. If no eye witnesses, they have to collect the circumstantial evidence and corroborate with the medical evidence. Chances of few accused persons turning into approvers will be beneficial for the prosecution. Under the new law the trial will not extend beyond 6 months.

“The present law has been enacted by the parliament to safeguard the safety and security of women. Letting in of Evidence has been simplified under the new law and if the prosecution is conducted in a proper manner, it’s a case for conviction for maximum sentence.”