Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, 18 Aug: The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, and will hear the case on 20 August.
According to the cause list of 20 August, uploaded on the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear on Tuesday a matter titled ‘In Re: Alleged rape and
murder incident of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and related issue’.
The alleged rape and murder of the junior doctor in a seminar hall of the state-run hospital has sparked nationwide protests. The body of the postgraduate trainee with severe injury marks was found inside the seminar hall of the hospital’s chest department on 9 August. A civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata police in connection with the case the next day, the PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union’s women’s cell organised a candlelight vigil at the NEFA Club here on Sunday as a mark of protest over the rape and murder of the doctor.
Students from various schools and colleges, including PhD scholars from Rajiv Gandhi University, attended the vigil.
Community-based student organisations also attended the vigil, along with members of the Youth Mission for Clean River, and others.
AAPSU women’s wing president Ponung Darang told this daily that “the issue is a contagious one. It is not limited to West Bengal; it can happen to any of us.”
She appealed to the Government of West Bengal to arrest the culprits at the earliest.
“This is Nirbhaya Part 2. We don’t need Nirbhaya Part 3,” she said, adding that a unified voice is needed from all genders.
“We recently celebrated the 78th Independence Day, but are we safe?” she questioned. “Despite there being a woman chief minister in West Bengal, and a few women MPs from there, such atrocity to a women is unacceptable,” Darang said.
Miss Arunachal-2024 Tadu Lunia, who was also present, condemned the incident. “Only showing solidarity is not enough. The issue is no more about mainlanders; even Arunachal Pradesh as a state is not safe,” she said, and highlighted the recent incident of the gangrape of a minor girl in Upper Subansiri district.
Students of the NERIST also organised a candlelight vigil on the institute’s campus in Nirjuli.
