Supreme Court raps Bengal govt over ‘inaction’ in rape case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reprimanded the West Bengal government for its mishandling of the investigation into the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, stating that the conscience of the entire nation was shaken by the “horrific” and “horrendous” incident. The court’s criticism centred around the significant delay in lodging the first information report on August 9 into the rape and murder of the 31-year-old junior doctor, the allegation by the parents that the hospital first told them it was a suicide, and the vandalism that occurred at the hospital five days later, raising questions about the competence of the West Bengal police in safeguarding medical professionals. While Sibal denied any delay in registration of the FIR and sought time to place detailed facts on record, the bench remarked: “Undoubtedly, there is an unexplained delay in the registration of the FIR.” The court also came down hard on the state for failing to deploy its machinery effectively to prevent breaches of law and order and vandalism at the hospital on August 14, particularly when the crime occurred within the hospital premises where an investigation was already underway. During the hearing, senior advocate Aparajita Singh, representing the doctors’ organisation “Protect the Warriors,” informed the bench that after the August 14 vandalism incident, the mob returned to the medical college hospital and threatened women doctors, warning that they would suffer the same fate as the rape victim if they reported the incident. In its order, the court stated: “We expect the government of West Bengal to exercise necessary restraint in response to peaceful protests conducted by any segment of society concerning the issues related to the incident in Kolkata.” Meanwhile, addressing a separate petition that protested about the victim’s identity being revealed and her photographs and videos being shared across multiple social media platforms, the bench issued an order to remove any references to the victim’s identify from all media and social media platforms.