Bengal CM assures justice for RG Kar victim in Assembly, BJP MLA mother in tears

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday told the Assembly that justice would be delivered in the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case, and said the state government had a "zero tolerance" approach to crimes against women. His remarks came during the discussion on the Governor's Speech.

The assurance left the victim's mother, BJP MLA Ratna Debnath, in tears as she sat in the House. Later, she told PTI that she remained hopeful of getting justice for her daughter.

"RG Kar case will see justice...People of Bengal have voted so that Abhaya gets justice," Adhikari said in the Assembly.

The RG Kar case involved a 31-year-old on-duty postgraduate trainee doctor, who was found raped and murdered inside the hospital on August 9, 2024, when the Trinamool Congress was in power. "Abhaya" is the symbolic name widely used by protesters for the deceased doctor.

After hearing the Chief Minister's remarks, Debnath broke down and was consoled by another legislator. "I am hopeful that my daughter will get justice. I'm here (Assembly) not for power, but for justice for my daughter," she later told PTI.

In the House, Adhikari said, "To ensure justice, three IPS officers have been suspended. Sandip Ghosh has been removed. We will clear everything." Dr Sandip Ghosh was the principal of the hospital when the incident took place. Former Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal and former deputy commissioners Indira Mukherjee and Abhishek Gupta were suspended for various reasons linked to the case.

A civic volunteer of Kolkata Police, Sanjoy Roy, was convicted as the main perpetrator and sentenced to life imprisonment. The CBI has started a reinvestigation into the case.

Adhikari also referred to several old and recent rape cases, including those in Rampurhat, Hanskhali, Kasba Law College, Kamduni and Dhupguri, and said the government had adopted a "zero tolerance" approach. "Tamanna's mother will also get justice... From the Namasudra family in Hanskhali to Kamduni and Kasba Law College there will be zero tolerance," he said.

He also referred to the death of 13-year-old Tamanna Khatun, daughter of a CPI(M) supporter, who was killed in Molandi village in Nadia's Kaliganj on June 23 last year after bombs were allegedly hurled from a Trinamool Congress victory rally taken out before the assembly bypoll results were officially declared. During a speech by Kaliganj Trinamool Congress MLA Alifa Ahmed on hawker eviction, BJP MLAs raised slogans and shouted, "Talk about Tamanna. You are Tamanna's killer, thief." Later, Adhikari said, "After you won the election, Tamanna was killed. I do not want to hear about democracy from you."

The Assembly debate centred on the RG Kar case and other crimes against women, with Adhikari promising justice in the doctor's rape and murder case and linking that assurance to the government's wider "zero tolerance" stand.

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