Kolkata, September 4, 2024 — The streets of Kolkata were overtaken by massive protests demanding justice for the rape and murder of a female doctor from RG Kar Medical College. In a battle to reclaim the night, people across Kolkata and West Bengal took to the streets with candles in hand, calling for the perpetrators to be punished. The call for this symbolic blackout was led by the student movement at RG Kar Medical College.
Responding to the call, residents of Kolkata and West Bengal turned off their lights between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. As the clock struck 9, the lights of Raj Bhavan were turned off, plunging the entire building into darkness. Throughout the city, people of all ages—from children to the elderly—flooded the streets. Their singular demand: exemplary punishment for those responsible for the doctor’s rape and murder.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already arrested a civic police officer, former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandeep Ghosh, and three of his associates as part of the investigation. The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the RG Kar case on Thursday, but the Chief Justice’s division bench has announced that the case will not be taken up tomorrow. However, a hearing might occur on Friday.
