Kolkata rape case: Doctors’ unique way of asking police to ‘grow a spine’

A delegation of junior doctors in Kolkata on Tuesday carried a hand-made artificial spine to their meeting with the city Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal. The unsaid message, which was put across in a unique way, was asking the police to “grow a backbone”. The symbolic act was part of the protest against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital last month.

The spine, crafted by the doctors themselves, was prominently displayed on the round table in the meeting room at police headquarters, positioned directly in front of Additional Commissioner of Police Murlidhar Sharma.

During the meeting, the delegation also handed over a memorandum to Goyal seeking his resignation for his mishandling of the probe into the August 9 rape-murder of the young doctor, before the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

On Monday at around 2 pm, a group of doctors began their march towards Lalbazar, carrying placards with illustrations of Vineet Goyal and demanding his resignation.

Nearly 24 hours later, junior doctors continued their march to the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar. The police eventually conceded, removing barricades and allowing the doctors to proceed to Bentinck Street, which is closer to their destination.

A delegation of junior doctors, along with senior Kolkata Police officers, finally reached Lalbazar, where they met with Goyal.

“The CP sir admitted that there was a lapse on the part of the police which led to the heinous incident on August 9,” news agency PTI quoted one of the 22 junior doctors, who met Goyal, as saying.

“We have told the CP that he should resign as we are not happy with his role on that day. He said he performed his role satisfactorily, and it is up to the state authorities to decide on his tenure,” another doctor said.

He said their protests would continue.

“On September 4, lights will be switched off in every home across the state for an hour in memory of the deceased doctor,” he said.

The body of an on-duty post-graduate trainee, who was raped and murdered, was found in the seminar room of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Junior doctors have been protesting against the incident since that day.