Silent Screams : A Plea for Humanity

There's been too much anger, too much rage, too much disappointment and too much disgust within me for a few days now. I feel like if I don’t scribble down what I am feeling inside me, I might explode with all of these feelings. I don’t know the victim personally, I am not someone from her family, I am not connected to her in any way. Neither am I from the same state or same profession. You may say that we both might have something in common, that’s true, I am a woman. I have the same "gender” as her. But that’s not relevant here. The reason I am feeling the way I am feeling, isn’t because of my gender. It has nothing to do with that. I am feeling all these emotions because I am a human. And if after you completed reading this, you don’t feel the same way I do, you don’t feel anger, you don’t feel rage, you are not saddened by all the news that you are seeing and hearing, trust me you are not in touch with your humanity! You are similar to all those rapists if not worse. It’s true that everyone has a different emotional quotient just like everyone has a different pain tolerance level. But at the end of the day if you enjoy the suffering of another living being, you are a monster. If your blood doesn’t boil because of all the injustices towards women that’s happening all around, and you turn a blind eye towards it, you are a culprit too! I completely agree with the statement that “Not All Men Are The Same”. I support it. But at the same time most of the crimes committed against women are primarily done by men itself. And when we talk about rape, It’s MEN itself. But I am not writing this to debate about whether this statement should be used or not. Whether it’s right or wrong, this is bigger than that. And I sincerely request everyone to please read this completely and try to understand what I am saying, what’s been bothering women like me for decades and why we are unable to sleep peacefully, and why we are posting again and again the same thing, and it's still not making any difference. And I know it might be triggering for some of you, trust me it’s triggering for me too, but imagine what the victim must have felt, and the least we can do is to bring justice to her, even if it's through one small post for her.

Timeline of events - 

A semi - nude body of an on-duty 31 year old female post-graduate trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on the morning of 9th August 2024 at around 11am. She was last seen around 2am having dinner with her other fellow doctors, after which she went to take rest after completing a 36 hour shift. The father of the victim received a phone call from the hospital saying that they must come immediately, their daughter committed suicide. They were made to wait three hours outside the hospital, before they even saw their daughter’s face. After 3 hours, the victim's father was allowed to go inside and take a picture of the victim. 

According to the father she had no clothes on her body. Her legs were 90 degrees apart and her specs were broken and there were shards of glasses in her eyes. She was choked to death.

The buzz around the college's principal

- Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former head of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was asked to go on leave after concerns were raised over his leadership and response during the case.

- Dr Ghosh faced backlash for comments perceived as victim-blaming, by saying that the victim was suffering from Psychosis and for failing to maintain adequate safety for staff, after which he resigned from his post. Victim’s family also claimed that the phone call that they received from the hospital authorities first mentioned that the victim died by committing suicide. 

- However, in a surprising turn of events, he was reinstated as Principal of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital just 24 hours later.

Arrests and investigations so far

- The police have arrested 33-year-old Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer, for his alleged role in the crime. Evidence, including a torn Bluetooth earphone, helped lead to his arrest. The CCTV also revealed the suspicious presence of the arrested suspect in hospital parameters as well as in the seminar hall.

- Roy had access to various hospital departments due to his connections with senior police officers and hospital authorities.

- Allegations surfaced regarding Roy’s past behaviour, including previous marital abuse and his history of watching pornography.

4 Page Autopsy 

- The postmortem report revealed that the victim was strangled and throttled to death. The mouth and throat were constantly pressed to prevent screaming. Her thyroid cartilage was broken due to strangling and deep wounds were found in her private parts.

- The report pointed at 10 injuries, including bleeding from the vagina, both eyes, and mouth. The report refers to injuries on the face, left leg, belly, right hand, lips, and neck.

- Prima facie, death has been due to gagging and there were multiple signs of injuries and struggle on the body.

- There are aberration marks and bruise marks on the victim’s face, on the eyes reaching till the neck. 

- According to the report, which was prepared around 4.40 p.m. on August 9, there were multiple strands of hair on the mattress which were soaked in blood. The mother of the victim and two witnesses were present at the time of the inquest that was conducted on the directions of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sealdah. A broken pair of spectacles and a hair clip were found on the spot.

- The postmortem report claimed that 151mg of semen was found in the victim's body indicating the possibility of gang rape.

- The report said the wounds in her private parts were caused by "perverted sexuality" and "genital torture". 

Criticism of the TMC Government

-The Trinamool Congress government has been criticised for lapses regarding the security and safety of women in the state. It has also been alleged that the TMC government deliberately tried to fabricate the case as suicide. 

-The criticism included concerns whether the Kolkata Police are properly investigating the case, leading the High Court of Kolkata to transfer the case to CBI. Additionally, TMC minister Udayan Guha has been accused of using his political powers to suppress the voice of the parents and the protestors by discouraging their participation in the protests.

Justice delayed is justice denied: Court hands over the case to CBI

- After pointing out serious flaws and lack of support from concerned officials in the case and no significant progress, the Kolkata High Court transferred the case to the CBI. They also flagged the possibility of destruction of evidence if the state police continued with their investigation.

- The specialised team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrived in Kolkata on Wednesday, accompanied by forensic and medical experts, to begin the investigation into the alleged rape and murder. Three teams were formed. One team took custody of the accused, another visited RG Kar with forensic experts from Delhi, and the third team reviewed call records and other data from victim’s phone. 

- Further investigations are underway. Now, the call for justice and safety in medical institutions is growing louder across the nation, impacting patient care and challenging the authorities to take decisive action.

Protests and March - 

- PGT doctors at the hospital immediately stopped working across all departments except the emergency services, demanding the immediate arrest of the perpetrators.

- Student associations organised rallies for a swift investigation.

- Opposition leaders, including Bengal BJP legislators, called for an independent magistrate-led investigation.

-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.

 Timeline of what happened on the night of August 15:

• 9.45 pm: CBI team and forensic experts leave RG Kar Hospital.

• 10.00 pm Protests are ongoing.

• 11.00 pm: Student protesters are scheduled to conduct a protest rally.

• 11.00 pm: The mob starts gathering outside the main gate.

• 11.15 pm: The mob breaks the police barricades at the main gate.

• 11.16 pm: Protesting students are chased and escape from the dharna stage.

• 11.20 pm: Protesting doctors take shelter inside the main boys' hostels, administrative building, and trauma care centre.

• 11.22 pm: The unruly mob enters the emergency department and vandalises it.

• 12.00 am: The mob leaves after midnight.

• August 15:

• Additional police force deployed.

• 1.00 am: Police use lathis and tear gas to take control of the situation.

• 1.30 am: The police commissioner arrives at the scene.

Things that went wrong with the whole case - 

Hospital - 

1.Irresponsible behaviour shown by the hospital towards their staff member security. Not enough precautions were taken to avoid any such action beforehand. - where were the  two security persons contractually employed at the emergency ward?

2. Why did the hospital authorities lie to the victims' parents about their daughter’s death? Why did they say that she committed suicide? - A woman who was found half dead with so many wounds all over her body - how is that a suicide, and this remark was given by the hospital who are “supposed” to be the experts in knowing stuffs like this.

Principal - 

1.Why did the principal shamed the victim, by saying that she suffered from psychosis? 

2. After the principal - Dr Sandip Ghosh resigned from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital why was he reinstated as the Principal of Calcutta Medical College and Hospitalwithin 24 hours? Who is protecting him? What is the principal hiding?

Police - 

1.Why were the victim’s parents denied to see their daughter? Why were they made to wait for 3 hours after reaching the hospital? 

2. Why was there a delay on part of the police in recording the statement of former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh?

3. Why did the police register a case of unnatural death?

4. Who threatened the victim’s parents to cremate their daughter early?

5. Why were there not enough police officials to protect the doctors, women and other citizens peacefully marching on the midnight of 14th August? Why were they outnumbered? Why didn’t they prepare well in advance? Why did they not ensure the smooth flow of the march? Why didn’t they take action when the mob entered? Why wasn’t the additional police force deployed early?

TMC Government - 

1. Safety of women is not adequate, not enough measures are taken by the state government to protect the citizens- especially women.

2. Fabrication of evidence - Who gave the permission to start the renovation work in the hospital, not even a week after the incident took place? Are they trying to bury the evidence? 

3. Who appointed the Principal to another College?

4. Why was there a delay in apprehending the suspect - alleged scapegoat if there was already sufficient evidence against him?

5. Why did the Government not ensure the smooth functioning of the protest and the rallies? Why were the orders not given for additional police forces way in advance, not even in the same college where such an act took place?

6. Why are the mob goons still not arrested? Who was behind this? Who all are involved in this horrendous act? And who is the TMC Government trying to protect? Are they gonna let the injustice prevail by allowing the culprits to destroy the evidence so smoothly?

But this doesn’t stop here. As much as I want to say that these people are responsible, they are not the only ones! We are equally responsible! We too have to be accountable for our actions- society as a whole. We have also been contributing in encouraging and supporting these monsters, by RAPE CULTURE.

Society ( Rape Culture ) - 

We have all been a part of it. You. Me. Everyone. Our families. Brothers, sisters, parents, relatives. Every single person. Maybe not to the same degree, but we sure do play our part in it. It starts from our home itself, and then spreads and corrupts each and every section of the society. We start putting restrictions on our daughters, sisters, mothers, in short on women, females. We label it as protecting them, but we sure as hell aren’t able too, because this shit is clearly not working! 

“She must have asked for it”

“Girls shouldn’t be friendly with strangers”

“Girls shouldn’t go out at night”

“Girls shouldn’t go to bars and clubs”

“What was she wearing”

“Were you drinking”

“Why were you alone”

“She had a questionable profession”

“Did you have physical relations before”

“Why didn’t you change your path”

“She must have provoked him”

“Did you smile at him”

We all have heard this. Some of us must have even said and believed or still believe this to be true. But the problem with this is we are wrong. Rape isn’t a petty crime like stealing a bread to eat, because you are starving, and so you protect the culprit by giving excuses. It’s a horrific act which doesn’t have any explanation or excuses. The mindset of the culprit is totally different. He is not in touch with his humanity anymore. He is no longer a human, he is a monster, so by justifying his crime and act you are also playing a part in the crime. In Rape Culture the sexual violence is justified and excused by using one of the above or the many more that we keep hearing in daily lives. Since when does blaming the victim become okay? Do we do it in other cases? Why is it that when women are the one who are being targeted or the one on the end of a crime - we always miraculously think that it is okay to blame them? 

How is that teaching women to avoid getting raped a solution? Can road accidents be prevented by not allowing anyone to drive? We put traffic rules which are same for everyone irrespective of the gender - and so are the rules for rape in the constitution - stopping anyone from committing rape. But since when does stopping women or telling them to not go out at night, not to be alone, not to wear what they want, not to hurt a fragile man’s ego a solution? Since when is this okay? Why is this a solution?  If we don’t impose such ridiculous restrictions on society then why is society so hellbound in imposing such ridiculous restrictions on women? I am not saying that preventive measures should not be taken such as - learning self defence, an emergency for protection, SOS Apps, etc. This is the same as driving within a set driving limit, going on a particular lane, etc to avoid accidents. This makes sense. But if you say that for the crime targeted for us, we are the ones who should adjust, we are the ones who should pay, we are the ones who should be blamed, we are the ones to be “protected”, we are the ones who should change our ways. Then it doesn’t make any fuckin* sense. 

Why should we watch the length of our skirts, and the amount of cleavage that’s visible? If this is the problem that guys can’t see it and ignore, or appreciate it without doing something horrible then I guess it would make much more sense if they keep their mothers photo in their wallets at all times and take it out and see it every time they look at a girl and feel the “need to meet their needs” - to avoid them from doing any such acts - because their mothers are the epitome of grace right It’s the outsiders who are the problem, the ones labelled difficult, the ones raising their voices, the ones breaking the chains of cultures and tradition. Or much better if you ask us to cover ourselves to be protected from men - then why not cover their eyes and let them not see us. Problem solved right!

I have also seen so many colleges and even houses put restrictions on their female students and girls or women respectively, a time-bound limitation. “All girls should be back to their college hostels by 7pm” ….. “They shouldn’t wander in the campus at night, alone” etc etc…..and same in many households…. “Come before 8pm or 10pm… ‘different levels of freedom is given’ …….. “Don’t go along, take your younger brother with you” ….And I have always felt so repulsed by this ideology. This is victim blaming at its peak. How is this a solution? If girls are not roaming out is that a solution? It’s like letting the killers loose and letting them roam freely and caging the rest of the society- putting them in prisons, so that they are safe, this makes sense right….? I could give a 1000 more examples like this.

Let me give a much better solution. Why not stop the male section of the society from going out in the night, because they are the ones who commit the crime, not all of them but as we can’t know who will, but they will definitely be the male gender itself, so why not stop them, put time restrictions on them. Because if you can do the same for women you sure as hell can impose these stupid rules on men too! And there's an upside for this in colleges: the college authorities can be free from no such incidents - which is what they are claiming to want right. And for the parents you are keeping your boys, husbands, brothers, fathers’ etc safe too! Which is what the families are also claiming to do. The second benefit for this will be that your male family member won’t be outside and hence won’t be able to do this to any other female. So this is much better than caging your females as compared to males. Because whoever is inside is “getting protected” be it male or female and if it's male who is stopped from going out “ you are protecting other females and hence the society too” which is one plus point you won’t get if you trap females inside the house and don’t let them go. As they are not the ones who commit such crimes. 

Here - Problem Solved! 

But I bet you won’t do that. Plus all the males who are reading this - the ones who are still reading that said. See how ridiculed this made you right! Then imagine our plight, imagine what we have to face every day of our lives, ever since we were born, for decades. Why should we pay and suffer for your sins? Why should we pay for an act committed by your gender? Why should we be on the receiving end of the act + the blaming + the suffering + the adjustment …..and so much more? Why can’t we as a society can’t understand that victim blaming and victim shaming isn't the solution. And even if we are not the ones who are committing the crime, just by asking this from the females is not right. This makes us on the same scale as the rapists just a few scales lower though. If the rapist is on 10 in a scale (Actually they are way outside the scale…say around infinity) …..then we are also somewhere in 3rd or 4th position, which isn’t less too, because that’s how rapists are invented, noone is born a rapist. It’s the sick mentality that they keep climbing the scale one by one and they reach that maddening level from where there is no coming back. Because this way we are just promoting the rape culture. We can’t just deny our involvement in such crimes. We are also responsible. And if we have some decency left within ourselves we should hold ourselves accountable and swear not to continue the same illogical steps of some stupid people who didn’t have the courage to stop such situations and hence started exploiting women even more in the name of “protecting them”. And it all comes back to patriarchy! But this isn’t what we are here to talk today. 

Even after expressing so much, I still feel there’s so much to say, so much to change, and so much yet to convey. But I will stop here. I request all those who read this please show your support to the rape case victim, by posting something that will help her family get one step closer to justice. Please don’t think about your gender, post anything irrespective of your gender, this isn’t a fight for equality right now. 

It’s a fight for humanity! I hope expressing my voice changed something within even 1 person and helped the victim’s case in any way. 

References - Most of it is my opinion and my words that were screaming inside of me waiting to let out. The rest of the actual facts of the case are mostly written by me taking help from various Newspapers and media agencies.