By: Aditi Roy
A thirty-one-year-old doctor in the Indian state of West Bengal was raped and murdered in her hospital building. The brutality of the incident has women all across India questioning their safety. People are fighting for justice to be served and to uncover the reality behind this incident.
The streets of Kolkata remain flooded with protesters, aiming to seek justice for a young medical trainee who was brutally raped and murdered on the night of August 9th. Moumita Debnath, the thirty-year-old victim, was found semi-naked and lifeless in the hallway of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The autopsy found 150 ml of semen in the victim's vagina, indicating a potential gang rape. The victim's body was covered in bruises and bite marks.
Thus far the police's main suspect is civic servant Sanjay Roy, who was seen lurking in the hospital CCTV footage near the seminar hall where Moumita Debnath was found. The accused was drunk while in the hospital and was spotted wearing a pair of Bluetooth headsets, which were discovered at the crime scene during the time of investigation. It is important to note that Sanjay Roy has a history of violence. A complaint against him was filed by his in-laws claiming he was abusive towards his wife. Durga Devi, the accused's mother-in-law, claims that he caused his daughter to have a miscarriage due to his constant physical abuse.
This tragedy extends beyond the gruesome rape and unveils a political dimension stopping the Debnath family from getting redress. The wrath of corruption in India bleeds its way into the case, making the pursuit of justice seem unattainable
Despite the obvious implications like vaginal bleeding, and the victim's body being partially nude and covered with fourteen bruises, the Debnath family was initially told their daughter had committed suicide.
The Kolkata police intended to write the incident off as a case of unnatural death, implying the need for no further investigation. This raised suspicions in the minds of all, who wondered why the university authorities were trying to conceal the details and render the case null and void.
The parents of the victims were made to wait three hours in the hospital before getting permission to see their daughter's condition. The management, showing no remorse, told the victim's father that he could go in to take a picture, after which he must leave the hospital premises.
It was even more appalling when Sandip Ghosh, the then-president of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital stated "It was irresponsible of the girl to go to the seminar hall alone at night." This ignorant and misogynistic comment was not ignored by the public as there was a massive backlash to fire Sandip Ghosh, as his handling of the event and his abhorrent beliefs make him an unfit educator and leader.
Despite the uproar, Ghosh wasn't fired. He resigned three days after the commotion and was promptly hired as the president of Calcutta National Medical College. The educator has close ties with the ruling party. Trinamool Congress seems to be the reason why he was set to get away scot-free.
Amid the chaos, the executives of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital thought it was a good idea to renovate the room next to the crime scene. Videos of the construction workers breaking down the room went viral across all social media platforms as people wondered how apathetic and callous these officials could be.
Residents of Kolkata found themselves asking if the government was even on the side of justice. The accused was himself a civic servant whose previous charges never resulted in jail time. In fact, he rode a bike that was registered with the Kolkata Police branch. In addition, the social media battle of politicians made the case seem like a PR stunt to gather majority votes.
Mamta Banerjee, chief minister of the state of Bengal, is now in hot water for the mismanagement of the case. The Banerjee administration covers both the police force and the government-run educational institution, yet all the officials in these organizations have proven to be nothing but corrupt and power-hungry.
Despite countless attempts, her fall from grace was inevitable. The chief minister tried everything from protesting on the streets of Kolkata to talking to the victim's parents and posting on social media. Mamta Banerjee's seemingly grandiose efforts didn't sway the residents of Kolkata, as her credibility seems to have been completely lost.
The question we should be asking ourselves is why we need another appalling rape case to question the prevalence of abuse against women in India. In 2012, there was the Nirbhaya rape case in the capital New Delhi, in 2016, the Ariyalur Gang Rape Case, and in 2020, the Hathras Rape case. When will we begin to tackle the problem of rape in India? When will we begin to make a change in the regressive cultural mindset? We focus our efforts on growing into an economic superpower and spreading our wings in the field of IT. Can we not take into consideration the safety of women in our country? Entering women into the workforce and putting them on the path of education isn't enough for a just society. We need to ensure they feel safe too.