RG Kar Case: Protests In Kolkata Over Bail To Ghosh, Mondal; Victim’s Father Alleges ‘CBI Stopped Working When…’

RG Kar Case: Protests erupted in Kolkata the day after bail was given to two key suspects. The protests were led by Left parties and the Congress, who accused the CBI of mishandling the probe.

Kolkata: Members of "Abhaya Manch' participate in a protest against CBI officials for unable to produce charge-sheet against former pricipal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh and former Officer in Charge of Tala Police station Abhijit Mondal, in Kolkata, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.

Source : PTI

Protests erupted across West Bengal's capital city Kolkata on Saturday in response to the recent grant of bail to two key suspects in the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the institution, and Abhijit Mondal, the ex-officer-in-charge of Tala Police Station, were granted bail by a Sealdah court on Friday after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to file a chargesheet within the mandatory 90-day period.

The protests were led by Left parties and the Congress, who accused the CBI of mishandling the investigation and failing to deliver justice. Congress activists held a procession from Rabindra Sadan to the CBI office at Nizam Palace, where they chanted slogans such as "We demand justice" and "Bichar chai Tilottoma" (Tilottoma wants justice), news agency PTI reported. The rally turned confrontational when police blocked their entry into the Nizam Palace, leading to clashes with the authorities.

A separate rally, organised by the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front (WBJDF), saw hundreds march from Karunamayee to the CGO Complex in Salt Lake to demand quicker action from the CBI.

#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal | Junior doctors, nurses and others stage a protest outside the CBI Office, against the bail granted to former Principal of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, Sandip Ghosh and Tala Police Station's former Officer-in-charge, Abhijit Mondal. pic.twitter.com/J9afL5ohqJ

— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2024

As per PTI, the rally was supported by the deceased doctor’s parents, with the victim’s mother stating, "We will fight for justice and it is our right." Placards carried by the protesters read, "If the system has failed, we will make it function to deliver justice."

Abhaya Manch staged a protest and burnt an effigy against the failure of CBI to file a supplementary chargesheet against the accused, ANI reported.

#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal | Abhaya Manch staged a protest and burnt an effigy against the failure of CBI to file a supplementary chargesheet against the accused of the Abhaya rape-murder case. pic.twitter.com/025rKkQ359

— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2024

RG Kar Case: Victim’s Father Says ‘CBI Stopped Working When Protests Stopped’

The bail decision for Ghosh and Mondal has further intensified public outrage, with the victim's father expressing his frustration over the CBI's handling of the case.

According to ANI, he said, "Wherever there will be protests, we will participate in them. This is the only way now. I am very sad. We have to protest more strongly, only then something will happen... CBI didn’t file a chargesheet. When we pleaded to the court for justice, they gave the case to CBI but CBI didn’t do its job properly." He also accused the CBI of losing momentum once the protests stopped, adding, "When the protests were going on, CBI was doing good work, that’s why arrests were made. But as soon as the protests stopped, CBI stopped working. If the protests had continued, CBI would have filed a chargesheet."

In addition to the Congress and junior doctors, activists from the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) and the Students' Federation of India (SFI) also took part in protests in other parts of the city.