All of us bleed for our daughter: Mahua Moitra on justice for Kolkata rape victim

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has said that when it comes to seeking justice for the brutal rape-murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital.

There is no “us” or “them” because everyone bled for “our daughter”. Her post on X came as the ruling party in Bengal continues to face massive protests, while calls for the party chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation escalate.

“It wasn’t a gangrape, there were no fractures, no hurried cremation and autopsy was videographed. Killer was caught within 12 hours and CBI is in charge of case. All of us bleed for our 31-year-old daughter who was raped by this animal. There is no ‘us’ & no ‘them’. Everybody wants speedy trial and justice. Let’s get this straight,” she tweeted.

Moitra, who has been vocal on X over the rape-murder, criticised the spreading of fake news in the matter last week. In a post, she highlighted several theories or allegations that were debunked, including fractures in the victim’s body and the presence of “150 mg” semen.

“Do NOT spread fake news please,” she tweeted.

She also slammed the Maharashtra government for the delay in lodging an FIR in the sexual assault case of two kindergarten girls in Badlapur.

The investigation into the Kolkata rape-murder, the brutality of which has shaken the entire nation and triggered massive countrywide protests, by the CBI so far has indicated that the postgraduate doctor was not gangraped and that accused Sanjoy Roy acted alone. Roy was a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, and he was arrested on August 10 – a day after the semi-naked body of the doctor was found inside the seminar hall of Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital.

Furthermore, the detailed autopsy report also claimed that there were no fractures in the victim’s body, as opposed to earlier reports that said her collar bone or pelvis were broken.

The gruesome rape-murder of the doctor has raised questions about the safety of women in workplaces. The Supreme Court, which heard the matter last week, jabbed the Bengal government and the RG Kar hospital authorities for their various lapses in handling of the case, especially the registration of the FIR at 11.45 pm on August 9 despite the discovery of the body in the early hours of the day. The top court also pulled up the state government for failing to stop vandalism at the hospital.

Additionally, Dr Sandip Ghosh, who resigned as the principal of RG Kar and was reappointed as the head of another reputed medical college and hospital in Kolkata within hours, has been under fire. He was sent on leave by the Supreme Court and is also facing a case in ‘financial irregularities’ by the CBI. He has undergone intense grilling by the federal agency and his second round of polygraph test was completed on Monday.

The CBI also conducted a polygraph test on Sanjoy Roy on Sunday.