Kolkata: The city experienced a unique and powerful display of civic solidarity on September 4 evening when residents turned off their lights for an hour from 9 pm to 10 pm and came down to the streets with candles. The junior doctors at the state-run hospitals of West Bengal urged everyone to switch off all the lights and light a candle or a diya as a symbolic ‘lights out’ protest titled ‘Let There Be Light, Let There Be Justice’.
The collective gesture was aimed at demanding justice for the murder of a young doctor from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, whose tragic death has shaken the city. Prominent landmarks such as the Victoria Memorial and Raj Bhavan, along with homes across the city, its suburbs and districts, plunged into darkness as part of the protest. Lights at West Bengal’s Raj Bhawan were also switched off as a symbol of protest against the horrific rape and murder case in Kolkata.
In Kolkata, protests were held at prominent landmarks, including Shyambazar five-point crossing, Moulali, New Town Biswa Bangla Gate, Rashbehari crossing, Behala, Garia, Ballygunge, Hazra crossing and Jadavpur 8B bus stand.
As a mark of solidarity, resident doctors from major hospitals in Delhi, including the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung and Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, held a candlelight march in the national capital, intensifying their call for justice and solidarity with their fellow healthcare professionals.
Victim’s family alleges forced cremationThe father of the 31-year-old junior doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital has said that he and his family were forced into cremating her body in a hurry against their wishes. He said they had desired to retain their daughter’s body for further rites but felt compelled to “succumb to immense pressure”, alleging that their house was surrounded by approximately 300-400 police officers after they returned from Tala police station. “We couldn’t say anything then,” he said, accusing the deputy commissioner (North) of Kolkata Police of offering them money while they were still grieving, shortly after returning home from the hospital. The father further alleged that the cremation fees were “waived” and he is “still unaware” who did so: “My daughter must be thinking that her father couldn’t even afford her cremation expenses. It is very painful for me.” |
