SC tears into Kol police, orders CISF deployment at RG Kar
‘Don’t Unleash Power Of State On Peaceful Protesters’
Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesofindia.com 21.08.2024
New Delhi : Supreme Court on Tuesday tore into the Kolkata police for allowing a 7,000-strong mob to vandalise RG Kar hospital early on Aug 15, storm the resident doctors’ hostel and threaten women doctors with dire consequences if they opened their mouths about the rape-murder of a doctor. A bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra doubted police’s ability to protect the resident doctors, 90% of whom had left for their homes out of insecurity, and ordered deployment of CISF to guard the hospital and its hostels.
“The protest by doctors (on Aug 15) ... was part of the wider ‘Reclaim the Night’ agitation. Police couldn’t have been unaware of the fact that when there are protests across the country, another would try to disrupt the protests. Women doctors were assaulted (at RG Kar hospital). Police ran away from the scene. Thereafter the women doctors leading the protests were called out by name and threatened with the same fate that had befallen the rapemurder victim,” the CJI said. The court also recorded its strong disapproval of police action against peaceful protests by doctors, civil society and lawyers. “Let not the power of the state of West Bengal be unleashed upon peaceful protesters. Let us deal with them with great sensitivity. This is a moment for national catharsis.”
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