Kolkata: It has been 45 days since they lost their daughter. The tears have not dried for the parents of the 31-year-old trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at the R G Kar Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal's capital. 

On television, her father and mother saw the West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, saying, “Now return to the festivities, do enjoy the charm of Puja.” 

In an interview with Article 14, the grieving father asked, “Would she have called for a return to festivities if such a tragedy had happened in her own house?”

The victim’s father runs a small garment business in Sodepur, a suburb along the Ganges about 15 km from Kolkata, where the victim grew up. Her mother is a housewife. 

Her locality, Natagarh, known for its abundant greenery, has fewer commercial buildings and high-rise flats. A nearby bazaar serves the needs of a close-knit community where all families know each other. With no shopping malls within a two-kilometre radius, Natagarh is a tranquil town, contrasting with the bustling city nearby, now numbed in agony. 

When we reached her house, the sun was about to set. 

Her father remarked, This is when she would have returned home after accomplishing her duty." 

We sat in his small garment factory located on the ground floor of his house, where he had toiled for years to fund his daughter’s medical education. 

Sitting amid ragged pieces of cloth, he recalled the entire sequence of events before us—how they were misled, how his daughter’s last rites were hijacked by political leaders and how the police tried to silence them with money. 

He revealed how they had been confused and deceived at every turn. 

“We entrusted our daughter's future to the college, placing our faith in the Chief Minister’s leadership,” he said. “We expected her to step forward, acknowledge the failure, and take responsibility, but that has not happened. the Chief Minister took no responsibility.”

On 9 August, the 31-year-old trainee doctor’s body was found in the seminar room on the fourth floor of the emergency department at RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata. Throughout the ordeal, even at the funeral, her parents said they had no say.  Their grief worsened when Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of R G Kar hospital, got another posting from the state rather than facing prompt interrogation. 

On 10 August, junior doctors came out on the streets of Kolkata, demanding justice for their deceased colleague and raising concerns about the safety and security of women, even in workplaces under state surveillance. 

In a country where NCRB data reports 86 rapes daily (the highest number of rape victims in India are between the ages of 18 and 30 years, the analysis shows), this incident highlights a broader crisis in women’s safety, especially since it occurred in a government hospital. 

The gruesome details of her death—rape and brutal assault—and the authorities' continued efforts to cover it up have fueled public outrage in Bengal. 

The Supreme Court also expressed concern over how the state initially handled the probe while transferring the responsibility of further investigation to the CBI.

Ghosh’s transfer to another hospital was revoked amid protests. The CBI arrested him and the Tala police station officer-in-charge, Abhijit Mondal, on charges of tampering with evidence and delaying filing a first information report (FIR) concerning the case. The CBI is expected to present the case status report to the Supreme Court on September 30. 

West Bengal’s civil society, which has tolerated numerous scandals over the years—such as the Saradha scam, Teacher recruitment scam, job scams, and syndicate-controlled corruption—reached a breaking point. 

Since 14 August, Kolkata and its suburbs have witnessed unprecedented public demonstrations, devoid of any political flags, unlike anything the city has seen since independence.  

Protests by junior doctors, feminist-led Reclaim the night marches, and demonstrations by civil society groups have presented a formidable challenge to Mamata Banerjee's government. 

The administration’s handling of the protests—marked by clashes between demonstrators and the police—has only deepened public anger. 

Regarding Durga Puja, Banerjee urged the public to “return to the festivities”. 

The father asked, “Would she say that if this happened in her own family?” 

Even as the junior doctors called off their protest on 19 September after 42 days, thousands of civil society protesters took to the streets the next day. 

This interview has been translated from Bengali.

Have you heard that after the junior doctors called off their Dharna, the authorities started erasing the slogans they wrote on the streets?

Father: This movement can't be erased from people's minds. It will continue until justice is served. I'm grateful to the junior doctors. They're all my children. I'm amazed at how they're carrying on the movement. I would bow down to them in respect if they were not so young.

Durga Puja is approaching. Your daughter used to celebrate the festival.

Father: Yes, she started celebrating Durga Puja at home once she became financially independent. She would invite all the relatives and has done everything single handedly. This year, everything was arranged for the festival. She called all our relatives to be here in those days. But, my house will never hear the sound of the dhak (Bengali rhythm instrument) again. Mamata Banerjee has urged people to embrace the festival spirit and return to their celebrations. But how can we celebrate when we have lost our daughter? How can the festival ever feel the same for us?  Would she still offer such advice if she were in our shoes, facing this immense personal loss? Our daughter's absence has cast a shadow over any possibility of joy or festivity. My daughter was very quiet and focused on her studies. She aspired to establish herself professionally and sought recognition. Her eyes were filled with dreams. We watched her dreams shatter into pieces. We watched blood pour from those eyes once filled with dreams.

How did you first learn about the incident? Is it possible to recount the events in sequence?

Father: On 8 August, my daughter left for the hospital as she did every week. We spoke to her seven times that day and felt nothing to worry about. Our last conversation was at 11:15 pm. I slept early that night as I planned to wake up early and meet someone for business. On the morning of 9 August, I dozed off after returning home. It was 10:53 am, and we received the first call from an unknown woman. She said, “Your daughter is unwell." I repeatedly asked, "What happened to her?" but she avoided the question, insisting we come quickly. Then she hung up. Panic set in. I informed our driver. As we waited for him, I called that number again to ask what happened to my daughter. They told me she was sick and in a hospital bed. As soon as we got into the car, we received another call, this time saying, "It seems your daughter has committed suicide. Please come quickly." 

Our neighbours, Anil Das, Mita Hansh, my wife, and I rushed to the hospital. The first two calls we received came from the same woman. Within ten minutes of our departure, I received a third call, this time from a man. By then, we had reached BT Road. He asked, "Are you on your way?" He urged us to hurry up.

When we arrived, we went to the emergency room, searching for our daughter. We asked a security guard where she was. He recognised us and took us to the chest medicine department. We saw a large crowd gathered as we approached the seminar hall. Many people were wandering inside, but we, her parents, were not allowed to enter. Instead, we were returned to the chest medicine department and made to sit there. They moved us from room to room. At that critical time, they kept my wife and me separated.

Suddenly, about 15 strangers appeared with blank paper and started insisting that I sign it, saying, "Sign here, we'll take care of everything." My wife was in another room. I might have signed it—I was that disoriented—but my elder brother was present. He shouted at me not to sign anything without understanding it first.

Is it true you were made to wait for three hours before seeing her?

Father: We arrived at the hospital at 12:10 pm, and around 3 pm, the (then) police commissioner Vineet Goyal finally took us to the seminar room. He had done the favour after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called Goyal. Had she not intervened, we might not have even seen our daughter.

By then, protests had erupted outside. Around 2:20 pm, 25 to 30 junior doctors began a demonstration. They sought our permission before joining the protest.

What did you see inside the seminar room? Was the crime scene cordoned off?

Father: The crime scene was not secured, not cordoned at all. My daughter’s body was covered with a white hospital cloth. The area around her face was bruised. It was clear from the way her body was arranged that something was wrong. 

Were you informed about who would conduct the autopsy?

Father: We were given a list of people who were supposed to be present at the autopsy. Later, we learned that none of them were allowed to attend. When junior doctors told us an autopsy had to be conducted, we insisted they do it before evening as per norms. Despite our fervent request, they had not done it before sunset. Many people said the autopsy should not be done in the same hospital, but we agreed. But we didn’t realise that the people listed would not be part of the process.

How did politicians get involved in this process?

Father: I went to Tala police station to file an FIR. By the time I returned, Somnath Dey, a TMC leader, had already taken my wife’s signature on the documents to release the body. We had no chance to disagree on the matter. 

Our driver advised me to keep the dead body in the morgue for a second autopsy for further verification. We went to Tala police station to discuss this. As soon as we arrived, the police compelled our driver to get out of the car, and within moments, 300 to 400 police surrounded us. Few among them were not in uniform. Before we even had a chance to speak, we were told that the police had already taken the body to our home using a green corridor. We demanded they should return the body, refusing to leave the place. A commotion arose, and we were told to vacate the premises immediately.

Shortly afterwards, we received a call from our neighbours, informing us that 300 police officers had surrounded our house. It occurred to us that if we delayed further, they might cremate the body before we could see her one last time. This fear made my wife and me rush home as quickly as possible.

What did you see when you arrived at home? 

Father: Our ground floor is used for garment work. My daughter used to live upstairs. We took her to her room. Her mother and I had just sat beside her when the DC (deputy commissioner) North called me outside. Standing there, he handed me a bundle of cash, saying, "Keep this. You’ll need it." I was stunned. Pointing to the stars on his uniform, I told him, "Whatever hardship you went through to earn those stars, my daughter endured far more to be where she was. Don’t dare to insult her.

They didn’t let us sit beside her in peace for a few minutes. Soon, they began pressuring us to take her for cremation. We had no choice but to leave. When we arrived at the crematorium, we saw that local TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh and Somnath Dey had already arranged everything. They even issued the cremation slip, which wasn’t their job. There were three bodies ahead of us, but they made sure my daughter’s was taken first.

What’s surprising is that after tormenting us the whole day, they washed their hands of the matter as soon as my daughter’s body was placed in the furnace. Everyone left. There were no police, no leaders beside us.

Kolkata police investigated for the first few days. Do you think there were any flaws in their approach?

Mother: We don’t know what investigation they conducted. All evidence had been tampered with. In an attempt to cover up one crime, they committed many others. As I mentioned earlier, my daughter’s colleagues weren’t allowed to attend the autopsy. I hope no one else has to endure what we’ve been through.

Do you have faith in the CBI investigation?

Mother: We trust how the CBI conducts the investigation, but given how Kolkata police handled everything, it will take time to gather all the evidence. 

This tragic incident has sparked widespread public outrage. You, too, have joined the protest. Does the public outcry give you any sense of assurance?

Mother: We can’t express enough gratitude for how people have stood by us. If they hadn’t protested, everything might have been covered up. This issue wouldn’t have reached this point without the protests and movements. These protests are crucial to ensure that no one else suffers like this. I urge the protestors to continue their movement and appeal to the United Nations to intervene and examine this case.

How do you assess Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's role and accountability in this tragic incident? 

Father: We entrusted our daughter's future to the college, placing our faith in the Chief Minister’s leadership and vision for the healthcare system. Tragically, while on duty, our daughter met a fate no family should ever have to face—she wasn’t just killed, she was brutally beaten to death. What makes this even more unbearable is the fact that the Chief Minister, who also serves as the Health Minister, bears ultimate responsibility for the hospital where this horrific incident occurred. Given the gravity of the situation, we expected her to step forward, acknowledge the failure, and take responsibility, but that has not happened. She has shown no willingness to accept accountability for what happened, and her lack of response has only deepened our grief. The former police commissioner, Vineet Goyal, even prevented us from seeing our daughter in her final moments, yet the Chief Minister took no suo moto action against him. This indifference has shattered the faith we once placed in her.

Furthermore, the Principle of R. G. Kar Medical College, Sandeep Ghosh, who was involved in the situation, could have been dismissed from his duty without hesitation. Yet, instead of holding him accountable, the Chief Minister merely transferred him to another hospital, National Medical College in Park Circus, Kolkata, as though he were being rewarded. These actions—or rather, the lack thereof—have left us completely stunned and devastated. It feels like the system is protecting itself rather than standing by the people it's supposed to serve.

Did the CM offer money?

Parents: She spoke to us about compensation and then publicly mentioned from the stage on August 15th, saying, "I can easily give you 10 lakh rupees." Later, however, she denied ever making that statement.

What message have you conveyed to other political parties?

Father: We have told everyone the same thing: please do not come to support us with your party flags. Stand with us as human beings without any banners. Millions of people have already stood by our side without any political affiliation, which has strengthened us. We are looking towards them and want the entire world to stand with us in solidarity.

(Arka Deb is editor-in-chief of Inscript.me. He has been a senior journalist at Network18 and Anandabazar Patrika.)

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