PIL In Calcutta High Court Challenges 12-Hour 'Bandh' Called By BJP To Protest Police Action During 'Nabanna March' Over RG Kar Incident

Update: 2024-08-27 17:46 GMT

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A public interest litigation (PIL) has been moved before the Calcutta High Court challenging a 12-hour strike called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protest police action against protestors who were marching towards the Nabanna, State secretariat building in connection with the brutal rape and murder of a resident doctor at RG Kar hospital.In calling for the court to restrain the BJP...

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In calling for the court to restrain the BJP from calling such a bandh, the plea relies on a Bombay High Court order which prohibited the MVA from calling a "Maharashtra Bandh" over the Badlapur school sexual assault.

Various student bodies had called for a march to Nabanna to protest against the alleged mishandling of the probe into the doctor's death by the State administration before the case was handed over to the CBI.

However, due to increasing disturbance at what was slated to be a "peaceful march", the police employed the use of water cannons, 'lathi-charge' and tear gas canisters to disperse the crowds.

This was disproved by the BJP functionaries of West Bengal, with leader Dr Sukanta Majumder calling for a 12-hour bandh to protest against the police's actions against those who were marching to the State secretariat.

In challenging the call for a strike by the higher echelons of the BJP, the plea states that such an "illegal act" would bring public life to a standstill.

"Due to such an illegal and uncalled Bandh, the normal public life is bound to come to a standstill as citizens will not be able to avail transport facilities for the purpose of their movement and there is a likelihood of destruction and damage of public property for which general public may suffer injuries. Admittedly, it is the duty of the State to ensure that normal public life does not come to a standstill and/or is affected because of a bandh called by a political party. The petitioner is thus aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the bandh called for by the Bharatiya Janata Party," the plea states.

Background

RG Kar hospital has been the scene of a gruesome rape and murder of a 2nd Year PG medical student, last week, leading to mammoth protests across the country. The High Court had transferred the probe into the doctor's rape and murder to the CBI, which had just begun its investigation a day before the vandalism occurred.

The High Court transferred the investigation into the gruesome incident to the CBI, upon noting that the state police had not been proactive in the investigation of the incident and the state administration was not "with the victim or her parents."

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A division bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya were hearing multiple pleas, including one by the parents of the victim seeking transfer of investigation to an independent agency. In expressing concerns over the progress of the investigation under the state police.

After a preliminary investigation, the Kolkata Police had arrested a 'civic volunteer' who worked with the local police force. This arrest has been termed as a cover-up, with the counsel claiming that the state police's investigation had been faulty and they were trying to make a scapegoat out of the accused in an attempt to cover up the real facts.

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The parents of the deceased were represented by Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who submitted that they initially received a phone call claiming that she had fallen sick and upon reaching the college were told that she had committed suicide, but were not allowed to see her body for up to three hours while waiting there.

The court expressed concern over the fact that the case was registered by the police as an unnatural death and remarked that the principal or authorities of the college had not done anything in their power to aid in the probe. It thus directed for the principal to be placed on indefinite leave till further orders.

In noting that a report could be called for by the state police under normal circumstances, the court noted the peculiar nature of the facts in this case and acceded to the parents' prayer that any further delay would lead to the destruction of evidence.

The matter was also taken up suo moto by the Supreme Court which passed directions to ensure that the identity and photos of the victim were not circulated on social media, as well as for security at RG Kar hospital, and to form a task force to look into instances of sexual violence against medical professionals.

Case: Sanjoy Das v State of West Bengal

PIL In Calcutta High Court Challenges 12-Hour 'Bandh' Called By BJP To Protest Police Action During 'Nabanna March' Over RG Kar Incident

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