Kolkata rape-murder: British Indians hold justice march, peace vigils

Indian students, charities and diaspora organisations in Britain have organised a series of events to continue to highlight their demand for justice following the rape-murder of an on-duty female doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. While women's organisations came together to organise peace vigils at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square in London and across several other UK cities on Thursday, the Students' Federation of India - United Kingdom (SFI-UK) organised a march in the city of Liverpool on Wednesday.

The hundreds who gathered at London's Parliament Square lit candles to spell out "Justice" and held placards with messages calling for respect and empowerment of women.

"We have received overwhelming support from the entire world, proving that the time has come to wake up, take notice, rise up above our individual interests and join hands in our endeavour of showing support and solidarity to the cause," said Dr Dipti Jain of the Medicos Women Charity.


"These peace protests are being held by units we set up in several cities in England, Scotland and Wales at the same time with Belfast and Dublin arranging theirs over the weekend. We have involved global units in the US, Canada and Australia, who are also holding peace vigils with us," said the UK-based National Health Service (NHS) doctor, who trained as a medic in Kolkata.

Earlier, SFI-UK continued its series of student-led peaceful protests and demonstrations with a march from London Road to the city centre of Liverpool.

"From Kolkata to Liverpool, we will stand for justice, and for the safety of women. The speeches reflected a singular emotion: we stand against the rape of women, the victim and the uncountable, nameless faceless women who are denied justice. The gathering attracted the attention of several bystanders who stopped to acknowledge and support our cause," said Raunak Bhattacharjee, SFI-UK activist and Master's student at the University of Liverpool.

"This is not just about one case. It is about the safety of all students, the accountability of institutions, and the fight against corruption. We demand immediate and exemplary punishment for those responsible for this horrific crime," added Renya Ramakrishnan, an SFI-UK committee member.

The protests have resonated across India and among the diaspora after a 31-year-old junior doctor was raped and murdered while on duty and her body was discovered at the seminar hall in the Kolkata hospital premises on August 9, with a civic volunteer arrested in connection with the attack the following day. A CBI inquiry into the case is ongoing amid concerns for the safety of women.