The alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, Asia’s first private medical college, has put the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal on the back foot. After securing a huge public mandate in 2021, the party had also performed well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, increasing its seat share despite facing allegations of job and PDS scams, multiple charges of molestation in Sandeshkhali, and unlawful land grabbing. The party received strong support from women voters, largely due to welfare schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar introduced by Mamata Banerjee-led government.
Why is the TMC troubled?
On August 9, when the crime occurred, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was in Jhargram for government meetings. Upon learning about the heinous crime, she promptly stated that the West Bengal government would not oppose a CBI inquiry if the victim’s family requested it. Her nephew and the TMC national general secretary and second-in-command in the party Abhishek Banerjee immediately sought capital punishment for the accused.
At first, the government appeared to manage the situation effectively. However, as days passed and the victim’s parents shared their experiences of harassment to the media, questions were raised about the actions of the police and the hospital authority. The traumatised parents revealed that they were initially informed by the assistant superintendent of the hospital that their daughter had committed suicide. But on reaching the hospital, they were horrified to learn that their daughter had been brutally raped and murdered. Adding to their trauma, the hospital authority and the police made the grieving parents wait for three long hours before taking them to their daughter’s body.
A video has surfaced in the public domain, revealing several outsiders—lawyers and doctors from other hospitals—who were purportedly associated with the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, gathering at the crime scene after the incident, while the victim’s parents were made to anxiously wait outside.
From protest to mass movement
The incident sparked widespread protests across West Bengal, other parts of India, and abroad as well. Apart from doctors and other medical professionals, people from all sections of society, especially women, demanded justice for the victim and better safety measures for them. On August 14, research scholar Rimjhim Sinha’s call for the ‘Reclaim The Night’ protest saw people turning out in large numbers. Not just in Kolkata, her call mobilised millions of women from all walks of life through social media across India. They took to the streets at midnight to demand justice for the victim and to call for a safe and secure society. Meanwhile, despite the seriousness of the situation, Kolkata Police failed to prevent unidentified individuals from vandalising RG Kar Medical College and Hospital that night.
The protests also laid bare the inefficiency of the hospital authority, and the government and Kolkata Police. Questions were raised by protesters and common people against their insensitivity in handling the case, hurriedly burying the body, downplaying the incident as a suicide, and mishandling the crime scene.
The only arrested person in the case, Sanjoy Ray, who was nabbed by Kolkata Police, was a civic volunteer employed on a contractual basis by the police. Initially, the police attempted to hide his identity, which only heightened the mistrust among the protesters.
“The government failed to understand the gravity of the situation. Every step taken by the hospital authority and the police since the incident came to light was questionable,” Dr. Abhijit Chowdhury of IPGME&R and SSKM Hospital told THE WEEK. “Their unwarranted hurry to bury the body and their way of managing the entire situation deeply hurt the family members as well as the general public.”
However, the MC also added its voice to the protests and call for justice. Jay Prakash Majumdar, a senior TMC leader and party spokesperson told THE WEEK, “We raised the demand of capital punishment of the culprits from the very beginning. We did not try to stop the CBI investigation. Kolkata Police did its best and arrested the main accused within 24 hours. The CBI has not been able to make any arrests so far. Then, why are people questioning us?”
The political play
The entire incident highlighted the poor working conditions of the medical professionals in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a state government-owned institution and one of the most prestigious medical colleges in the country. As a result, Mamata Banerjee’s administration was also questioned by protesters, who lost faith in the overall investigation. Social media influencers played a key role in turning the protests into a mass movement.
The role of the then principal Dr. Sandip Ghosh, who was already facing several charges, including financial irregularities, was also questioned. Protesting students demanded his immediate removal from the hospital. His reappointment as the principal of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH) within four hours after his resignation from his previous position further reflected the complete failure of the health department.
Professor Dr. Chowdhury wondered, “When his activities and roles were questioned and he had himself resigned, then what was the need to reappoint him in another government institution?”
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court took the case from Kolkata Police and put the CBI in charge of the investigation. During this period, the focus gradually shifted from seeking justice for the victim and ensuring women’s safety to a broader battleground of partisan politics. The opposition accused the government of interfering in the investigation, alleging attempts to shield certain individuals. Concerns were raised about Dr. Ghosh’s close relationship with Mamata Banerjee, as he had treated her leg injury sustained during the 2021 assembly election campaign in Nandigram.
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Subhamoy Maitra, a political analyst, told THE WEEK, “The Trinamool Congress’s failure to handle the situation might be due to the existence of internal feud and infighting within the party. As a result, the party failed to arrive at a single-point decision on how to manage the situation.”
He added, “The most natural question is, are the steps taken by the administration in the aftermath of the incident reflecting the influence of the party on the government’s decision-making?”
The ruling party refuted the claims of any differences of opinion within the party. “Our only stance is that whoever is responsible for this heinous crime must be punished. Kolkata Police swiftly arrested one person. If the CBI investigation shows others are involved then we hope they get arrested and convicted,” Majumdar, the TMC spokesperson, told THE WEEK.
TMC in turning pitch
Opposition parties, including the CPI(M), BJP, and Congress, argued that the situation resulted from the failures of the police and health departments. Consequently, they demanded the resignation of Mamata Banerjee, who holds both portfolios. They claimed the vandalism incident on the night of August 14 was planned by the TMC cadre to destroy evidence from the hospital.
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Mamata countered saying it was a joint conspiracy by the BJP and CPI(M). She also mentioned that DYFI flags were visible among the crowd who attacked the institution. Abhishek Banerjee demanded immediate arrest of all the culprits involved in the attack. Mamata also took out a rally with women leaders and workers of her party to demand death penalty for culprits involved in the brutal rape and murder incident.
“We want capital punishment of the culprits. The state government provided all kinds of help to Kolkata Police. The police did its investigation after listening to the demands of all students (in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital). The police conducted multiple tests, sent the dog squad, and collected CCTV footage and all other evidence. I was in touch with them till 2 am,” she said at the end of the rally.
She also flagged the issue of misinformation and fake news being spread on social media about the incident. The TMC supremo claimed, "Certain people are making false videos to provoke people. Not all news is true. Fake news is being circulated to make money on social media and to spread political agendas. They are using AI to commit cybercrime.”
The TMC further highlighted that both the CPI(M) and BJP echoed the same slogan, demanding the chief minister’s resignation with a unified voice: “Dofa ek. Dabi ek. Mukhyomontrir podotyag [One agenda. One demand. Chief Minister’s resignation].”
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the RG Kar incident, claiming that efforts to shield the accused cast serious questions on the hospital and local administration. Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP), a key INDIA bloc ally of the TMC, defended Mamata’s actions. The Aam Aadmi Party condemned the incident but cautioned against its politicisation.
Supreme Court questions
The overall activities of the police didn’t go unnoticed in the Supreme Court’s suo motu pursuit of the case. The police were heavily criticised for the significant delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR), which is crucial for starting an investigation. During the Supreme Court proceedings, judges particularly raised questions about the timing of the FIR and expressed disappointment with the responses from the learned counsel representing the West Bengal government. The apex court also criticised the state government for its approach to ensuring the safety of medical professionals.
Subsequently, the Calcutta High Court also gave the CBI the responsibility to investigate the allegations of financial irregularities in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during the tenure of Dr. Ghosh as the principal. The West Bengal government had earlier formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the allegations.
Visuals from 'Reclaim the Night' protest | Salil Bera
Simultaneously, the police crackdown on protesters and issuing intimidating notices to anyone who criticised the government, including doctors and TMC MPs and spokespersons, added fuel to the political fire. Kolkata Police claimed notices were sent to students, content creators on YouTube and political leaders for allegedly spreading “misinformation” about the RG Kar incident. Notices were issued against 280 people, including social media profile owners from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, and some who were using VPNs of Bangladesh and Pakistan to run fake profiles.
Although social media and influencers played a crucial role in exposing the hospital authorities’ and Kolkata Police’s misconduct, it is equally true that social media became inundated with various forms of misinformation that created a false and graphic representation of the incident in the minds of common people.
Who is Sandip Ghosh?
Dr. Ghosh had been facing multiple allegations along with charges of financial discrepancies during his tenure as the head of the administration. He had been accused of misusing public and academic funds, money laundering during procurement of equipment, scam in biomedical waste management, etc. Students had protested against him earlier as well and a former staff of the hospital had brought forward these charges a year ago.
Akhtar Ali, former deputy superintendent (non-medical) of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, told THE WEEK, “Students protested against him for allegedly demanding money from them to give them passing marks. On digging further, I realised his activities were far worse.” Ali had registered a case with the Anti-Corruption Branch of the West Bengal government’s vigilance department a year ago.
Recently, in the aftermath of the brutal rape and murder incident, he approached the High Court demanding an ED investigation. “The state government did not look into my complaint. Instead, Sandip Ghosh used his influence in transferring me to Murshidabad Medical College.”
The ruling TMC, however, doesn’t see this as the failure of the health department. “Allegations of financial discrepancies against Sandip Ghosh have nothing to do with the rape and murder incident. We were already probing it but then the high court handed the investigation to the CBI. If he is found guilty, he will be punished. He has nothing to do with Trinamool,” said Majumdar.
Meanwhile, the CBI has interrogated Ghosh for over 10 days regarding the alleged rape and murder case. During its investigation into suspected financial irregularities, the agency raided more than 10 locations in and around Kolkata, including the former principal’s residence and homes of several others involved, collecting numerous documents. In the rape and murder case, the CBI conducted polygraph tests on Ray, the sole arrested individual, Ghosh, and five others.
Parents’ quest for justice
However, the victim’s parents have been left frustrated as the CBI is yet to put the accused in the case on trial even 17 days of the incident. “We hoped for a fair investigation and a speedy trial. All we wanted is justice for my daughter,” the victim’s disappointed father told THE WEEK.
