On August 16, 2024, in the afternoon, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and CPIM of colluding to cause unrest in the state. This charge followed Wednesday’s night vandalism at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, in which a mob damaged the protest site, vehicles, and property of the hospital.
After 12 years of Nirbhaya, this case has shaken the entire country. On August 14, people in Kolkata, especially girls, participated in a candle match at 11:45 p.m. named “The Night is Ours”.
Though CM was absent at the protest, she hosted a rally today. She said that the people involved had no connection to the student protest and were BJP members. Bannerjee quoted, “Bam (left) and Ram want to create unrest in Bengal, and they both have come together to do this. The people who vandalised RG Kar Hospital yesterday and created this ruckus are not connected to the student movement at RG Kar Medical College; they are outsiders. I have seen as many videos, I have three videos as I can see, in which some people are holding national flags, they are BJP people, and some are DYFI are holding white and red flags.”
On August 9, a post-graduate trainee doctor was discovered dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, with her family alleging that she was raped and murdered. She also added, “Now the case is not in our hands; it is in the hands of CBI. If you have something to say, then tell CBI; we have no objection.”