Chaos Erupts At RG Kar Protest, Victim's Mother Says Police Roughed Her Up Without Provocation
Chaos erupted in Kolkata as police clashed with protesters led by parents of a young female doctor raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College last year.
Chaos erupted in Kolkata after police personnel clashed with protesters as parents of a young female doctor, who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last year, led a march to the West Bengal secretariat (Nabanna) on Saturday.
Victim's Mother Assault Allegation
Meanwhile, the mother of the victim has alleged that she was roughed up by women police personnel while on her way to join the march, which was called to mark one year of the rape and murder of her daughter in the state-run hospital.
She claimed that in the scuffle, her ' shankha ' (traditional conch shell bangle) was broken and she sustained a head injury.
#WATCH | Kolkata | West Bengal Police deploys lathi charge at protestors during the 'Nabanna Abhiyan' rally. The rally has been called to mark the one-year anniversary of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder. pic.twitter.com/F3jtMFmXk3 — ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2025
PTI quoted her as saying.
The rally participants demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for "failing to protect women".
Protest In Kolkata
The rally descended into chaos as protesters attempted to break through the barricades and tried to march towards the secretariat despite police warnings, and were lathi-charged by the police.
A section of protestors taking part in a march reached Santragachi in Howrah district and attempted to breach the iron wall barricades set up by the city police there.
As part of the 'Nabanna Chalo Abhiyan', the protestors raised slogans for justice for the RG Kar victim and voiced their resolve to reach the state secretariat, irrespective of the blockades put up by the police.
'The police can fire upon us, but we are determined to reach 'Nabanna', where the state government must answer why justice has not been delivered to Abhaya (RG Kar victim) even after one year," a protestor said as quoted by the news agency.
The protestors were seen carrying the Tricolour besides posters and banners demanding justice for the victim and the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Additionally, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, along with BJP leader Agnimitra Paul and other party MLAs held a sit-in at the Park Street-J L Nehru Road crossing, while alleging that more than 100 protesters, including Adhikari and other BJP leaders, were injured in police action.
Adhikari also claimed that the parents of the RG Kar victim were injured during the lathi charge.
Crowds were found swelling at both the assembly points in Howrah and Kolkata, with the state police not allowing the protestors to reach anywhere close to the West Bengal secretariat.
What Happened At RG Kar Hospital?
On August 9 last year, the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee's body was discovered inside the Chest Medicine Department's seminar hall on the fourth floor of the hospital's emergency building. The nature of her injuries, which indicated brutality, and the fact that it happened within a state-run hospital, sent shock waves across West Bengal and beyond.
Widespread protests erupted across campuses, drawing students, doctors, and civil society to the streets.
The Kolkata police initially investigated the case, before the Calcutta High Court transferred the probe to the CBI.
A civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, was found guilty of rape and murder by a Kolkata court in January 2025, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. But the victim's family and several rights activists insist the case is far from closed.
Two other arrests followed — Sandip Ghosh, the then principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and Abhijit Mondal, former officer-in-charge of Tala police station, on charges of misleading the probe.
But Mondal was released on bail after the CBI failed to file a charge sheet within 90 days.
(With inputs from agencies)
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First Published:
August 09, 2025, 16:13 IST
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