Bengal's 3 stage, film icons return state honours over doc's murder

Amid protests by civil society organisations over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor, three prominent stage and film personalities of West Bengal on Tuesday announced returning the honours conferred on them by the state government over the RG Kar Hospital issue.

The three are actor Sudipta Chakraborty, known for national award winner films like ‘Bariwali', theatre personality Biplab Bandyopadhyay and thespian Chandan Sen.

Chakraborty decided to return the Special Film Award conferred on her by the Mamata Banerjee government in July 2013.

In a letter to the Secretary of Information and Cultural Affairs department, she said, "In the wake of the current status of our state and the related comments made on September 1 by one of our respected MLAs Kanchan Mullick, I hereby wish to return my certificate and the honour bestowed upon me and continue my demand for justice, both legal and social, standing on the road."

Chakraborty referred to a statement by Mullick on September 1 when the actor-turned-Trinamool Congress MLA asked the state award recipients to return their honours if they join protests against the rape and murder of the doctor of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

"I have been paid an amount of Rs 25,000 too with the certificate, if I remember correctly. Kindly provide me the means by which I can return the amount. Looking forward to your positive response," she said in the letter.

"Had never compromised, will never do it. I had thought the award had been given in recognition of my merit... But I will keep standing on the road, demanding justice, legal and social, both," she said.

Earlier, Bengali theatre personality Biplab Bandyopadhyay said in a statement that he is returning the award conferred on him earlier this year by the Paschimbanga Natya Akademi and the Rs 30,000 monetary grant.

The state government and the “partisan” police force want to “hide facts” following the rape and murder of a woman doctor in R G Kar Hospital on August 9, he alleged.

“I think the main criteria behind such awards is not one's talent and merit but sycophancy, unconditional support to the state. I did not realise this while accepting this honour in February,” he said.

Bandyopadhyay said, “I felt ashamed and aggrieved as a human being and disturbed by the shameless hyper activism of the state after the R G Kar incident.”

He said he cannot retain any state-instituted award after the R G Kar incident.

"I have intimated the Akademi (about his decision to return the award),” he told reporters.

Raising his voice over the state's handling of the R G Kar issue, thespian Chandan Sen also declared that he is returning the 'Dinabandhu Mitra Purashkar', an award instituted by the Natya Akademi.

"I have already mailed the secretary, information and cultural affairs, expressing my wish to return the prize money," he said.

One week back, a well-known theatre group in Malda district ‘Samabeta Prayas' said it will return a Rs 50,000 state grant to protest the government's handling of the R G Kar issue.

Saradindu Chakraborty, the head of the theatre group Samabeta Prayas, had said the grant was originally awarded to support a two-day theatre festival by his group in the district.

The state-run Paschimbanga Natya Akademi provides a grant of Rs 50,000 to theatre groups across the state to support and promote the group theatre movement.

Eminent theatre personality Kaushik Sen said, "The response to this horrific incident and the state's handling of it should be addressed in whatever way individuals or organisations see fit.”

The body of the on-duty post-graduate trainee, who was allegedly raped and murdered, was found in the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

One civic volunteer was arrested by the police in this connection the next day. The CBI is now investigating the matter now on an order of the Calcutta High Court.