West Bengal is witnessing an unprecedented wave of protests, with the state’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, facing intense and extraordinary pressure, like never before. Public outrage over the horrific rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar on August 9 has placed the Trinamool Congress and its supremo — the champion of Maa, Maati, and Manush (mother, land, and people) — in an exceedingly difficult position.
Over 10 days have passed, and protests across the country are only growing more intense. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court chastised the West Bengal government.
While Mamata Banerjee has conveniently labelled the anger and outrage against her and her administration as a political conspiracy, the allegations and unresolved aspects of the case point squarely at the missteps of her government.
Since the heinous crime of August 9 at RG Kar Medical College, at least 10 incidents and ironies have emerged, highlighting the missteps and mistakes of the Mamata Banerjee administration and the Kolkata Police, which answer directly to the Bengal CM. With each passing day, as protests and public anger intensify, the Bengal government’s actions have failed to quell the unrest. Instead, they only fuelled the fire.
Insensitivity, negligence, and a glaring lack of transparency have been on full display.
Here are the 10 major blunders by Mamata Banerjee and the Kolkata Police that, instead of calming the situation, only made things worse.
1. ATTEMPT TO COVER UP THE KOLKATA RAPE-MURDER CASE
Starting with the initial investigation on the day of the crime, the case has been marred by allegations of attempts to cover up the truth.
The Left and the Bharatiya Janata Party have also criticised the West Bengal government, led by Mamata Banerjee, for its handling of the case.
There was an attempt to bury the rape-murder as a suicide.
Despite the discovery of the junior doctor’s half-naked body in the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College, there was a desperate attempt to downplay the horrific event as a suicdide.
The victim, whose body was discovered with signs of multiple injuries, was initially reported to have taken her own life by hospital officials. However, a subsequent autopsy revealed that she had been raped by more than one person, and murdered brutally.
Sixteen external and nine internal injury marks, death due to manual strangulation and smothering, and forceful penetration—these are among the grim findings of the post-mortem report of the junior doctor.
All of this was attempted to sweep under the rug.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court also questioned the delay in registering an FIR following the rape and murder of the trainee doctor.
It was only the subsequent autopsy report which revealed the true nature of the crime.
2. PARENTS KEPT WAITING AND A RUSHED CREMATION
If the loss of a dear child wasn’t a tragedy enough, the parents of the victim were made to wait for three hours to see her body. She alleged that she was made to wait for over three hours at the hospital to see their daughter’s body.
The victim’s mother even accused the Kolkata Police of typing to” close the investigation as fast as possible” and not cooperating with the family.
It was even pointed out by protesting doctors and opposition parties that the Kolkata Police did not even initiate a proper investigation. The victim’s body was hastily cremated even while the investigation was under way. The father of the trainee doctor claimed that his daughter was cremated in haste despite two more bodies being present there.
The police directed them to carry out the cremation on priority as a huge crowd gathered at the crematorium, an official told IndiaToday TV.
3. NEGLIGENCE IN INVESTIGATION AND Rs 10 LAKH
It is no secret that the Kolkata and West Bengal Police are under the thumb of Mamata and other Trinamool leaders, but the rape-murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata highlighted the extent of complicity.
Firstly, police initially informed the victim’s parents that she had taken her own life, only to later reveal that she had been raped and murdered. The gross mismanagement of information and the subsequent cover-up attempts raised serious questions about the police’s credibility and commitment to justice.
Furthermore, the police have been accused of destroying evidence, including a diary kept by the victim that may have contained crucial details about her harassers.
The victim’s father alleged that a page from the diary was found to be torn.
Adding to the charges of insensitivity was the compensation of Rs 10 lakh that was offered to the victim’s family by Mamata Banerjee. What could be more disheartening than offering Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s parents when all they sought was justice, not compensation?
“The Chief Minister speaks at length, walking the streets demanding justice for my daughter. Yet, at the same time, she attempts to suppress public anger. Why is she engaging in duplicity? Is she afraid of people? We have questions that need answers,” the victim’s father said.
4. RENOVATION NEAR RG KAR CRIME SCENE
Shortly after the brutal incident in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College, and amid the intense protests outside, masonry work inexplicably began near the crime scene.
A portion of the wall in the bathroom adjacent to the seminar hall was being broken down. Naturally, suspicions of an attempt to destroy evidence were raised.
Couldn’t the sudden renovation work during such a crucial investigation have waited?
That was one of the hard questions also asked by the Calcutta High Court.
5. RG KAR’S PRINCIPAL RESIGNS, GETS PLUM POSTING
The Mamata Banerjee government has also faced severe criticism for protecting the principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Sandip Ghosh, who was accused of initially attempting to cover up the incident by labelling it a suicide, was not subjected to disciplinary action.
Instead, he was transferred to the prestigious Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, hours after his resignation.
Ghosh’s former colleagues spoke out against the corrupt system of commission that he had established at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. They raised suspicion over his career progression, hinting at his connections.
6. MISMANAGEMENT OF PROTESTS
From the outset, fellow doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital suspected foul play and immediately began protesting. Despite the protests, the state government accused the doctors of causing public distress by going on strike.
Instead of addressing the long-standing grievances about women’s safety, safe work environments and showing sensitivity, the West Bengal government exerted implicit pressure on the doctors to return to duty immediately.
The height of the mismanagement was also seen in the vandalism of the crime scene on August 14.
Following the Calcutta High Court’s harsh criticism, Ghosh, who is now being questioned by the CBI, was sent on leave.
7. FAILURE TO PREVENT VANDALISM AT RG KAR
Days after the rape and murder, as men and women across Kolkata took to the streets in protest under the “Meyera Raat Dokhol Koro” (Reclaim the Night) movement, a peaceful gathering on the night of August 14 descended into chaos.
The RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was vandalised. As the mayhem continued for nearly 40 minutes, the Kolkata Police stood a mute spectator.
It was alleged that instead of preventing the vandalism, the police officers on duty hid to protect themselves. Several, including the BJP, had alleged that the vandalism was carried out by “TMC goons”, who sought to tamper with the crime scene.
8. CANCELLATION OF KOLKATA DERBY
The way the Kolkata Police dealt with the Derby match between arch-rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal on Sunday, also points to a major misstep by the Mamata Banerjee government.
The match was cancelled, and the venue shifted to Jamshedpur in Jharkhand. Police said that supporters of both clubs gathered in front of the stadium in the afternoon holding flags of the respective teams and shouting slogans, “We want justice”.
The match was called off, citing security concerns amid widespread protests, but fans and critics argued that it was done to prevent mass protests and banners demanding justice for the victims and the resignation of the Chief Minister.
It was seen as a further attempt to suppress public outrage and dissent against the incumbent Mamata Banerjee’s government. Now, people have further stepped up their attack against the Bengal government over the cancellation of the football match, calling it another show of her authoritarian rule.
9. BLAME ON MEDIA AND ACTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA CRITICS
The protests, which could have led to corrective measures by the state government and Kolkata Police, instead resulted in a response that many viewed as repressive.
Oppositions’ and protestor’s calls for Mamata Banerjee’s resignation met harsh attacks.
Following the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital on the night of August 14, the Kolkata Police Commissioner directly blamed the media.
“I am truly outraged. The Deputy Commissioner (North) was seriously injured while protecting the protesters; he even lost consciousness. What happened here was partly due to false news being spread by the media. The Kolkata Police is concerned about this. What haven’t we done? Every possible step has been taken by the police. Despite that, false propaganda has been spread by certain people. There is no political connection to this. An attempt is being made to forcefully politicise the issue,” the Commissioner said.
Furthermore, TMC minister Udayan Guha’s threat to “break the fingers” of those accusing Banerjee has only added fuel to the fire.
Meanwhile, facing intense heat and criticism, the Kolkata Police cracked down on a lot of people including social media influencers, YouTubers, students and doctors or “revealing pictures or the identity” of the junior doctor.
Even a Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP wasn’t spared. Kolkata Police sent two notices to Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, whose post on X sought that the CBI question the commissioner of police.
A total of 280 people from West Bengal and beyond were issued notices, and a 23-year-old student from the state was arrested in connection with the protests, reported the Indian Express.
10. MAMATA AND HER PROTESTS AGAINST MAMATA
As outrage over the Kolkata rape-murder intensified and the case was transferred to the CBI, CM Mamata Banerjee took to the streets herself. She demanded the death penalty for the culprits involved in the incident—a case that was already tainted by allegations of negligence of the Kolkata Police.
The irony lies in the fact that the Kolkata Police falls under the Home Ministry, which is directly overseen by CM Mamata Banerjee herself.
Even before her planned march on Sunday, she took out another march on Friday.
She even issued a deadline to the CBI, demanding that the perpetrators be apprehended by Sunday.
Meanwhile, the opposition mocked her, suggesting she should have marched for the resignation of the Home Minister — herself, the CM.
The escalating crisis that has left Mamata Banerjee’s administration grappling with an unprecedented backlash, and protests continue to swell, the CM’s attempts to regain control may prove too little, too late.
Every attempt by the Mamata administration, therefore, has only compounded the blunders over the past 10 days. With public trust diminishing, the TMC government now teeters on the edge. The horrific crime has been compounded by the 10 big blunders of Mamata Banerjee and her police.