On 9 August 2024, Moumita Debnath, a second-year postgraduate trainee (PGT) doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, West Bengal, India was found dead in a seminar hall on the college campus. An autopsy later confirmed that she had been raped and murdered. The incident has sparked significant outrage and nationwide protests which demand a thorough investigation while also questioning the safety of women and doctors in India.
Incident
On 9 August 2024, Dr. Moumita Debnath, a second-year postgraduate trainee (PGT) doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College in North Kolkata, was reported missing by colleagues. At about 11:30 am, the trainee doctor's body was discovered in one of college's seminar rooms in a semi-nude state with her eyes, mouth and genitals bleeding. She was later declared dead.
Investigation
Autopsy report
An autopsy revealed that the victim had been raped and sexually assaulted before being killed via strangulation. The report, spanning four pages, also noted a deep wound in her genital tract, lips, left leg, right hand, ring finger, neck, and face. The report revealed that the scratch marks on the woman's face were likely caused by the accused's fingernails. According to the report, pressure was applied to her mouth and throat, and she was strangled, resulting in a fracture of the thyroid cartilage. The report also noted bleeding from her eyes, mouth, and private parts, with the injuries in her genital area attributed to "perverted sexuality" and "genital torture." The exact cause of the injuries to her eyes remains undetermined.
The postmortem report also revealed that around 150 mg of semen was found in the vaginal swab. This finding along with the extent of injuries led the doctors and the victim's parents to believe that this may be a case of gang rape. Kolkata Police rejected such claims as rumours, suggesting that it is impossible to distinguish semen from multiple individuals with the naked eye during an autopsy.
Arrest
Following an investigation, the police arrested a suspect, Sanjay Roy on 9 August after finding his Bluetooth headset at the crime scene. The suspect is a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police disaster management force and a member of the police welfare association. He is a trained boxer and close to few higher officials at the Kolkata Police. He had been posted at the police outpost near the medical college and would act as a middleman for few patients who were close to him. He had been married four times and has been described as a womaniser and domestic abuser. According to the Kolkata Police, he confessed to the crime. The mother of the accused has defended her son and says he is being framed.
Transfer of the case to CBI
On 13 August 2024, the Calcutta High Court asked the state police to hand over the case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while expressing discontent with the investigation so far. They also flagged the possibility of destruction of evidence if the state police continued with their investigation.
Reactions
Resignation of the college principal
Dr Sandip Ghosh, an orthopaedic surgeon and the principal of college, resigned amid the protests surrounding the incident. He cited an inability to endure the ongoing humiliation from social media criticism and defamatory remarks by politicians. Shortly after his resignation, he was appointed as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College, a move that sparked further outrage. On 13 August, the Calcutta High Court directed the government and the concerning authorities to place him on extended leave while also criticising his immediate re-appointment at the Calcutta National Medical College.
Protests
People protesting for justice for the victim in Kolkata
The incident garnered widespread media coverage and triggering outrage across the nation especially within the medical community, as student unions and colleagues of the deceased demanded justice and improved security measures on campus.
In response, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) called on Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda to introduce a special central law aimed at preventing violence against doctors. They also urged that hospitals be designated as safe zones. This appeal follows widespread protests and strikes by resident doctors across the country in response to the heinous crime, raising serious concerns about the safety of medical staff.
On 13 August protests escalated as more than 8,000 government doctors in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, the financial capital of India, halted work in all hospital departments except for emergency services, according to media reports. In New Delhi, junior doctors wearing white coats staged a protest outside major government hospitals. Emergency services stayed suspended on 13 August in almost all the government-run medical college hospitals in Kolkata. Similar protests in cities such as Lucknow, and Goa hit some hospital services. Protests by junior doctors were being held at all the major medical institutions in Delhi and Kolkata including AIIMS Delhi, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital, Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital as well as the R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) on 12 August, announced an indefinite nationwide suspension of elective services as a form of protest. The protests were called off on 13 August after a delegation of the IMA and other groups had met the Health Minister J. P. Nadda. Several resident doctor's associations in India like the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) as well as AIIMS Delhi, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital, Calcutta National Medical College, R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College Dwarka have continued protests. Two days after calling off the strike, FORDA resumed its strike after the violence in the R.G. Kar Medical College.
Large protests and candlelight marches were held by the medical fraternity as well as women starting from the midnight of 14 August. The protests were named as "Women, Reclaim the Night" were held in Delhi and Kolkata.
"Reclaim the night" protests during the night of 14 August
On 15 August, shortly after midnight, police used tear gas and a baton charge as a group of unidentified miscreants masquerading as protesters toppled the barricade and entered the premises of the hospital. The miscreants pelted stones at the hospital premises and vandalised the emergency ward and the area where the victim was found. Several policemen and protesting civilians were injured. Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal blamed the "malicious media campaign" against the Kolkata police for the violent protest. Kolkata police detained and later arrested 19 persons responsible for the violence and vandalism at the hospital premises on 15 August.
The Indian Medical Association held a nationwide strike across all hospitals on 17 August. It said that emergency services will remain open, but OPD and other elective services will remain shut across the nation.
Criticism of the state government
The West Bengal government, led by Trinamool Congress (TMC), has been criticized for lapses regarding the security and safety of women in the state. It has also been alleged that the hospital management deliberately tried to fabricate the case as suicide. The criticism included concerns whether the Kolkata Police are properly investigating the case, leading the Calcutta High Court to transfer the case to CBI. The Indian Medical Association, along with members of the opposition Bhartiya Janata Party, accused the West Bengal government under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state police of being directly accountable for the incident, asserting that the vandalism on 15 August was perpetrated by “TMC goons” in order to destroy evidence related to the case. However, TMC MP Mahua Moitra denied any allegations accusing her party and the Chief Minister of any systematic cover-up, citing the accusations as "absolutely wrong and incorrect".
Kolkata Rape Case SC Hearing
Terming the rape and murder case of a medic at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital as horrific, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (20 aug) called out the patriarchal biases and said, “Women doctors are targeted more”.
CJI DY Chandrachud noted, “Medical professions have become vulnerable to violence….due to ingrained patriarchal biases, the women doctors are targeted more.”
CJI further stressed ‘hierarchy in the medical field’
CJI observed, “As more and more women join the workforce….the nation cannot wait for another rape for things to change on the ground. Existing enactments do not adequately address the institutional safety standards for doctors and medical workers,”
Taking suo motu cognizance of the case, the top court said this incident raises systematic issue regarding doctor safety across India.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, which had taken cognisance of the incident, said if women are not able to go to work and working conditions are not safe, we are denying them equality.
The top court slammed the West Bengal government over the delay in filing an FIR in the rape-murder case and asked what the hospital authorities were doing.
"It appears crime was detected in early hours; medical college principal tried to pass it off as suicide," the bench comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra observed.
The bench rapped the Kolkata Police and asked how a mob of thousands entered the RG Kar Medical College.
The apex court said most young doctors are putting in 36 hours of work and there was a need to evolve national protocol to ensure safe conditions at workplace.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said West Bengal should not be in denial mode and there was a complete failure of law and order in state.
The medic’s body, showing severe injury marks, was discovered inside the seminar hall of the hospital's chest department on August 9. The Kolkata Police arrested a civic volunteer in connection with the case the following day.