Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: Women across West Bengal to hold mass protest at midnight

Kolkata: A mass protest 'Raat Dokhol' (reclaim the night) will be conducted across Bengal at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, where women from all walks of life will take out a march to ensure the safety and security of women, especially after the rape and murder of a post graduate medical trainee at RG Kar Medical College.

The protests will take place at over 45 locations across the state and will continue till 5 am on Independence Day.

Similar protests will be held in Bengaluru, Mumbai and other cities. A team of the Indian Medical Association from New Delhi visited the house of the deceased and the RG Kar Medical College. "We have met the family members of the deceased. We want to show solidarity with the students in their protest. We want a Central Act for the safety and security of the medical students," AK Raghavan of the Indian Medical Association told ET. The slogan 'Swadhinotar Modhyoraatey, Nari Swadhinatar Jonyo' (women's liberation at the midnight hour of Independence) has gone viral on social media.


Kolkata city has erupted in protest meetings in the last few days. Actress Sohini Sengupta said, "This is no political rally. We will all join. I think enough is enough. There is a lack of tolerance as human beings."

Senior doctors joined the protest at RG Kar Hospital on Wednesday even as the Joint Forum of Doctors called for a state-wide 'stop work' protest and the closure of OPDs for eight hours, both in private and government-run hospitals in the state.

Tension erupted outside RG Kar Hospital when the Kolkata police stopped a BJP rally outside the hospital with barricades. BJP workers engaged in a scuffle with the police outside the hospital gates when they were stopped. The RG Kar students created a human chain inside the hospital campus as they didn't want any political parties to enter the campus.

A BJP procession, led by former state presidents Rahul Sinha and Dilip Ghosh, was taken to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. Left organisation DYFI has set up a stage outside the hospital campus and is protesting.

"We will not allow any political parties to enter the campus. This is a students' protest and it will remain so," said a student Asif Iqbal.