A year after the RG Kar rape-murder Swarupa Dutt/Rediff look at the city where it happened, Kolkata -- its study in dichotomy, at once the self-proclaimed cultural capital of India as also a petri dish for a peculiar rage that breeds crimes against women.
Although both sides agreed on the prevailing threat culture, they differed on the underlying premises, forces, and situations that promote it.
Rohini Khadse, the women's wing president of the Sharad Pawar-led party, in the letter written on the occasion of International Women's Day, pointed out the recent gangrape of a 12-year-old girl in Mumbai to highlight rising crimes against women and press for their demand.
'The police could not save my daughter or bring her justice, but they didn't think twice about beating up women and elderly persons.'
The anger and the anguish are on the rise. News of a botched-up post mortem, tampering of evidence, a hurried cremation has gone global, reports Payal Singh Mohanka from London.
His threat was heard in a video clip that has gone viral. However, the authenticity of the video could not independently verify.
The Calcutta High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit the case diary initially prepared by the Kolkata Police in connection with the rape-murder of an on-duty doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The court also instructed the CBI to present a list of individuals interviewed in the case at the next hearing scheduled for April 23. The CBI has been investigating the incident since August 13, 2024, when the case was transferred from Kolkata Police. The court noted inconsistencies between the inquest and post-mortem reports, with two injury marks mentioned in the inquest report but absent in the post-mortem report. The CBI is currently investigating whether there was a larger conspiracy behind the crime and if there had been any attempt to destroy evidence.
A Kolkata court on Saturday convicted prime accused Sanjay Roy of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, 162 days after the crime that sparked nationwide outrage and led to prolonged protests.
Healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors continued their cease-work protest.
The protests by resident doctors at government hospitals in several states across the country ended on Thursday as major doctors' bodies called off their 11-day strike over the rape-murder of a trainee medic in Kolkata after the Supreme Court made an appeal to them to resume work.
Radical Islamist networks are deliberately targeting Muslim youths embedded within the country's professional and academic ecosystems, leveraging their skills, mobility, and digital reach to quietly strengthen operational capabilities. This trend highlights a dangerous evolution in terror recruitment -- one that exploits ideological faultlines, online echo chambers and transnational radical Islamist influences to attract individuals who outwardly embody India's modern and aspirational narrative, points out Dr Kanchan Lakshman.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud directed the protesting doctors to get back to work by 5 pm on Tuesday and assured them that there will be no adverse action if they resume duty.
Responding to the 'Women, Reclaim the Night' call given on social media by commoners, college students, home-makers and employees of offices will congregate in key thoroughfares in small towns and big cities, including in various parts of Kolkata.
The government on Saturday said a committee will be formed to propose safety measures for healthcare professionals even as OPD services were hit across the country as doctors joined the 24-hour nationwide strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to protest the alleged rape and murder of a trainee medic in Kolkata.
West Bengal is home to 43,000 Durga Pujas, and the business around it is a major economic driver.
Sanjay Roy, convicted for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2022, will initially work as a gardener at the Presidency Correctional Home where he is lodged. He will later be trained for other jobs such as tailoring, carpentry, or manufacturing of aluminium utensils. As an unskilled worker, Roy will be paid a daily wage of Rs 105.
Chattopadhyay was seen being taken out of his residence at Subhasgram in South 24 Parganas district around 2 pm by ED officials, who previously conducted search operations at the premises for over seven hours.
The anti-corruption unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation also searched the residences and offices of those engaged in supplying materials for the management and care of patients.
Although no fresh arrests were reported in the case, the Central Bureau of Investigation continued with its questioning of top officials of the RG Kar Hospital.
Pronouncing sole accused Sanjay Roy guilty of rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at state-run RG Kar hospital, Sealdah court judge Anirban Das on Saturday said the convict had attacked the postgraduate trainee while she was asleep in the hospital's seminar room around 4 am on August 9, 2024.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose reached Delhi on Monday night amid speculations that he may meet President Droupadi Murmu and senior leaders.
According to the cause list of August 20 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.
Sekhar Roy was summoned by the police in connection with a social media post he made over the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The top court on Monday directed the protesting resident doctors to resume work by 5 pm on Tuesday, observing that if "there is continued abstention from work, there may be a likelihood of adverse action".
In a rerun of the 'Reclaim the Night' campaign, hundreds of women took to the streets in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal on Sunday night, demanding justice for the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The state police have called the scheduled rallies, support for which has been mainly garnered over social media platforms, as "illegal" and "unauthorised", and said they have taken necessary precautions to allay apprehensions about potential law and order situations during the march.
Ghosh was asked to specify his role after getting the news of the death of the doctor, who he had contacted and why he made the parents wait for nearly three hours, he said.
India's last three major commercial aviation accidents --Patna (2000), Mangaluru (2010), and Kozhikode (2020) -- could offer critical safety lessons for the ongoing investigation.
Sanjoy Roy, the accused in the rape and murder of a doctor at R G Kar hospital in Kolkata, was sentenced to life imprisonment till death on Monday. His mother, Malati Roy, who had previously expressed support for the punishment, shut herself in her home and refused to speak to reporters. Neighbors and family members of Roy have questioned whether he acted alone in the crime, suggesting others may have been involved.
The victim's mother expressed hope that the discussions between the CM and the agitating doctors would yield results.
Olympic medallist Dr Vece Paes was a part of the BCCI's anti-doping programme for several years, besides also working with the Indian Davis Cup team.
In the wake of 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India so far, the Union health ministry has made functional 52 laboratories for testing samples while 57 labs have been designated for helping in sample collection for Covid-19 to enhance capacity for diagnosis and detection of the disease. "Following the increase in load of screening samples from suspected cases with symptoms and travel history to the affected countries, the department of health research/ICMR has commissioned 52 laboratories for COVID-19 testing in India," an official said.
The Madhya Pradesh high court in Jabalpur on Saturday directed protesting doctors in the state to call off their strike over the brutal rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata immediately, and return to work.
The investigators are unable to join several dots due to lack of evidence from the crime scene.
The protesting doctors said they would not work in the Outpatient Department but would partially work in emergency and essential services.
Kolkata hangs its head in shame as the hope of a government with a moral compass and a heart in the right place recedes into the distance, notes Payal Singh Mohanka.
Bandyopadhyay, eminent playwright and director, said in a statement that he is returning the award conferred on him earlier this year by the Paschimbanga Natya Akademi and the Rs 30,000 monetary grant.
Bandyopadhyay, eminent playwright and director, said in a statement that he is returning the award conferred on him earlier this year by the Paschimbanga Natya Akademi and the Rs 30,000 monetary grant.
The decision followed a petition by former deputy superintendent of the medical establishment, Akhtar Ali, who sought an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged financial misconduct during the tenure of the college's former principal, Sandip Ghosh.
Notice for ticket holders ahead of Durand Cup semis Kolkata
