IT professionals join stir as protests continue to rock Kolkata

Multiple protests by people seeking justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim, with and without political banners, continued to rock Kolkata for yet another day on Tuesday even as the Central Bureau of Investigation grilled a “close acquaintance” of the prime accused for the second successive day to get to the bottom of the motive for the crime.

A Special Investigation Team constituted by the West Bengal government to probe the alleged financial irregularities at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during the tenure of its former principal Sandip Ghosh filed an FIR and gathered details of the case from a whistleblower.

Chanting 'Justice for RG Kar' and 'Justice for our sister', hundreds of IT professionals took to the streets of Sector V in Salt Lake, the city's IT Hub, protesting against the rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital.

Holding mobile torches and candles, the protestors, a large number of them techies from different IT companies including MNCs, took time off from their 24x7 work schedule to walk over a 2 km distance, starting from Webel Crossing.

Titled "Office Parar Ektai Swar, Justice for RG Kar" (there is only one demand from the IT hub, Justice for RG Kar), the rallyists also comprised media persons from different television channels located in the area.

Similar rallies were taken out on BT Road at Baranagar area in the northern outskirts of the city by members of local voluntary organizations and human rights activists.

The police, meanwhile, resorted to a "mild lathi-charge" and arrested over 20 ABVP activists after a scuffle ensued between the two sides during a protest march to the West Bengal health department headquarters.

The protestors demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who also doubles up as the state's health and home minister.

The police had put up barricades at several roads leading to Swasthya Bhavan, which the ABVP activists tried to breach, a senior officer said.

"We have only one demand -- the resignation of the chief minister. What happened at the (RG Kar) hospital is unthinkable," a woman ABVP activist said.

For the second day in a row, the CBI questioned Anup Dutta, an assistant sub-inspector of police and member of the city police welfare board.

Dutta's proximity to prime accused Sanjoy Roy, the arrested civic volunteer, is believed to have led the agency sleuths to understand how Roy could have had free access to police barracks where he stayed, and within an institution like RG Kar Hospital where he could move around freely at all times of the day.

CBI sleuths have reportedly accessed multiple photographs showing Dutta and Roy together prompting them to dig out further details on the arrested man from the officer.

Dutta, however, was seen sprinting towards the CBI office to avoid media persons when they asked him how long he knew the accused for.

The four-member state SIT spoke to former deputy superintendent of RG Kar Medical College, Dr Akhtar Ali, the whistleblower and first complainant against financial irregularities against Dr Sandip Ghosh, the institution's former principal, at the premises of Swasthya Bhawan, the state health department headquarters.

An FIR was lodged at the Talah police station, more than a year after Dr Ali had registered a complaint in March 2023, alleging gross financial irregularities at the hospital.

Ali had also sent his complaint against Ghosh and a few others to the Swasthya Bhavan, the Vigilance Commission and also sent a copy to the Chief Minister's Office.

Earlier in the day, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan deplored the "insensitive attitude" of the Bengal government to the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor, and said that a "fear psychosis" has gripped the children of the country following the ghastly crime.

Pradhan, who was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme of IIT Kharagpur in the city, said the respective governments at the state and Centre must abide by the directives of the Supreme Court on the issue.

"But the world has been witness to the insensitivity of the state government, the 'don't care' attitude, and the unsuccessful effort to hide evidence," he said.

In a parallel development, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose alleged that the parents of the victim were denied a copy of the FIR by the Kolkata Police which initially investigated the case.

Bose, who spoke to her parents twice over the phone during the day, assured them that he would look into the matter.

The governor first spoke to the father of the deceased and said that the entire country was standing by them. While talking to the father, he enquired about the health condition of the victim's mother and told him that he would be visiting their residence at their convenience.

"We all are with you. You will get justice. Today I am in Delhi, I held discussions in detail about the matter. I will go to your residence as per your convenience," Bose was heard telling the father in a video message released by his office.