Doctor Rape and Murder Case Updates: A Bench headed by CJI Chandrachud orders CBI to file its status report on August 22.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear as the first matter on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) a suo motu case related to the rape and murder of a postgraduate medic at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata amid the ongoing nationwide doctors’ strike over it.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, which had taken cognisance of the incident, has kept the matter on top of the cause list for hearing at 10.30 a.m.
The suo motu cognisance of the case, titled “In Re: Alleged rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, and related issue”, assumes significance in view of the fact that Calcutta High Court is already in action and has transferred the probe into the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
On Monday, the Central Division of the Kolkata Police arrested a second-year B.Com student for allegedly sharing social media posts containing threats to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s life and for revealing the identity of the victim. The police said the posts were “provocative” in nature and could lead to “social unrest and promote hatred” in the community. The student was produced in court on Monday.
Kolkata Doctor Rape Case, IMA Nationwide Strike
The parents of the 31-year-old junior doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered at R G Kar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata, raised concerns over handling of her body, saying that it was not in the same condition initially as it was found in the institute’s seminar hall, hours after the incident on August 9.
The victim’s parents questioned the West Bengal government for trying to curb the spontaneous public outcry despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s protests against rape. “We decry any bid to muzzle the voice of the people, to stop the movement for justice as not one person is involved in the incident. We hope the CBI probe will unravel the truth,” the father was quoted as saying by PTI.
Meanwhile, as medical professional continue their strike against the incident, resident doctors of AIIMS and other Delhi hospitals will be providing free OPD services on the road in front of the Health Ministry at Nirman Bhawan from today. In West Bengal, scores of women took to the streets and other parts of West Benagl yesterday night demanding justice in the case. In the rerun of the ‘Reclaim the Night’ campaign they raised slogans “we want justice” and demanded exemplary punishment for those involved in the crime.
Kolkata Rape Case SC Hearing: Terming the rape and murder case of a medic at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as horrific, the Supreme Court on Tuesday called out the patriarchal biases and said, “Women doctors are targetted more”.
CJI DY Chandrachud noted, “Medical professions have become vulnerable to violence….due to ingrained patriarchal biases, the women doctors are targetted more.”
CJI observed, “As more and more women join the workforce…..the nation cannot wait for another rape for things to change on the ground. Existing enactments do not adequately address the institutional safety standards for doctors and medical workers,” LiveLaw reported.
“It appears crime was detected in early hours; medical college principal tried to pass it off as suicide,” the bench comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra observed.
The apex court said most young doctors are putting in 36 hours of work and there was a need to evolve national protocol to ensure safe conditions at workplace.
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