In summary,
- A mob breached police barricades and gained access to the premises of RG Kar Hospital.
- The emergency ward of the facility was damaged during the incident.
- In response, law enforcement utilized batons and deployed tear gas canisters to disperse the gathering.
The ‘Reclaim the Night’ demonstration in Kolkata was marked by tumultuous events as a crowd surged into the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the site where a 31-year-old trainee doctor was tragically raped and murdered. Reports indicate that numerous individuals sustained injuries as law enforcement deployed tear gas to disperse the gathering.
The protests commenced at 11:55 PM on Wednesday in West Bengal and across the country, forming part of the ‘Reclaim the Night’ initiative, which gained traction through social media platforms. Thousands of women from diverse backgrounds took to the streets, brandishing placards and calling for justice for the victim.
Although the protests were predominantly peaceful, the circumstances outside the RG Kar hospital escalated into violence shortly after their commencement, as a crowd forcefully breached the hospital premises.
Footage depicted the crowd dismantling the barricades established outside the hospital and violently throwing chairs onto the ground. The crowd proceeded to vandalize the emergency ward of the hospital, as well as several police vehicles that were stationed outside.
The doctors and students who had been staging protests outside the hospital for several days were compelled to vacate the premises as the mob began to damage the temporary structures they had erected.
The police, overwhelmed by the size of the mob, resorted to lathi charges and the use of tear gas to disperse the unruly crowd.
Kolkata’s Commissioner of Police, Vineet Goyal, attributed the vandalism to a “malicious campaign” circulating on social media.
“What has transpired here is a direct result of a misleading media campaign that is malicious in nature… The Kolkata Police has taken all necessary actions in this matter… We have made efforts to address the family’s concerns, yet unfounded rumors continue to spread… I am profoundly frustrated. We have acted with integrity,” the Commissioner stated.
Due to a detrimental media campaign, the Kolkata police have experienced a significant erosion of public trust. We have never claimed that there is only one individual implicated; rather, we have stated that we are awaiting scientific evidence, which requires time. It is against my principles to arrest a young postgraduate student solely based on hearsay. The media pressure is immense, yet I have consistently maintained that we are acting in accordance with what is right.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now conducting an inquiry, and I am confident they will handle it impartially. We will extend our full cooperation to the CBI, he remarked. Trinamool Congress MP and party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee also addressed the issue of vandalism. “The acts of hooliganism and vandalism at RG Kar last night have surpassed all reasonable limits.
As a public representative, I have communicated with the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, urging him to ensure that all individuals responsible for today’s violence are identified, held accountable, and brought to justice within the next 24 hours, irrespective of their political connections. The demands put forth by the protesting doctors are fair and warranted. This is the least they should expect from the government. Their safety and security must be of utmost priority,” he stated in a tweet.
THOUSANDS TAKE PART IN ‘RECLAIM THE NIGHT’ PROTEST
As darkness fell, thousands of demonstrators, including students, professionals, and homemakers, united in a march, brandishing torches and placards to call for accountability and an end to violence against women.
In an interview with the news agency PTI, Rimjhim Sinha, the founder of the movement, characterized the gathering as a new struggle for women’s freedom, highlighted by a widely circulated poster depicting a red hand grasping a crescent moon. Protests erupted in significant locations across both small towns and major cities, with several notable sites in Kolkata.
At the Biswa Bangla Gate in Kolkata’s New Town, approximately 8,000 individuals, illuminated by candles and displaying posters, formed a luminous assembly.
Demonstrators convened from various points, including Jadavpur 8B Bus Stand to College Square, Naktala Nabapally to New Town Biswa Bangla Gate, Behala Sakher Bazar to Shyambazar Five Point crossing, and from the Academy of Fine Arts to Nagerbazar, among others.
Protests were not limited to West Bengal; cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad also witnessed similar demonstrations.
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