RG Kar tragedy: Medical fraternity swarms streets, protest march starts

Kolkata, Aug 21 (IANS) Hundreds of representatives from the medical fraternity, including senior and junior doctors as well as medical students, hit the streets at Salt Lake here on Wednesday demanding justice for the woman doctor of state-run R. G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata who was allegedly raped and murdered in the medical facility.

The protest march, which started from the Central Government Office (CGO) complex, would culminate at Swasthya Bhavan, the state health department headquarters.

Explaining the rationale behind starting the rally from the CGO complex, a protesting doctor said that the said complex houses the office of the special crime unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which is conducting the probe into the matter,

"A week has passed since the CBI officials have started the investigation process and we are yet to get any information about any significant progress in the probe process. So, we started our rally from the CGO complex to send a subtle message to CBI," he said.

While the rally started, former R.G Kar principal Sandip Ghosh, who is facing interrogation in the case, was within the CBI office at the CGO complex.

Meanwhile, both the CGO complex and Swasthya Bhavan have been wrapped under a thick security blanket since Wednesday morning.

Heavy police deployment has been made to escort the protesters during the rally.

The protesters are marching peacefully raising slogans like "We want Justice" or "Justice for R.G. Kar victim".

The protesters carrying posters sought justice, fast probe and punishment for the accused.

As per the schedule, after reaching Swasthya Bhavan, a delegation of the protesters will meet the top officials of the state Health Department and submit a memorandum in which their demands will be enlisted.

The post-mortem report of the victim had suggested that the body had 14 injuries.

The body of a female doctor was found under suspicious circumstances in the seminar hall of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. So far, only one person has been arrested in connection with the case.

--IANS