Kolkata: The night sky over Kolkata burned with the glow of torches and the voices of hundreds as the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF) held Abhaya Raat on Friday — a night-long protest to mark one year since the horrific rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Starting at 9 pm from College Square and winding its way to Shyambazar, the protest became a moving vigil of resistance, grief, and solidarity. Walls came alive with graffiti, brushes painted cries for justice, and cultural performances turned the city’s streets into a stage of remembrance. Junior doctors, senior physicians, students, and citizens marched shoulder to shoulder, raising slogans that echoed into the night.

Abhaya Raat is the first in a series of demonstrations planned to mark the anniversary of the crime that shook Bengal. Women’s rights organisations, medical student bodies, and civic groups are set to hold events throughout the week.

 

Saturday, August 9, marked exactly one year since the body of the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was found in a seminar hall of the state-run hospital. The brutal rape and murder triggered unprecedented outrage, uniting doctors, students, and civil society in a months-long agitation last year. In January this year, a Sealdah trial court convicted civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy and sentenced him to life imprisonment for rape and murder.

 

But the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) maintains there is a “larger conspiracy” at play. Its fifth status report, submitted on July 16, revealed the agency had scanned 32 terabytes of CCTV footage and examined seven witnesses. The trial continues in Sealdah, while connected cases are being heard at the Calcutta High Court and the Alipore court.

Earlier this week, the victim’s parents travelled to Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and senior CBI officials. “My daughter died at her workplace. This is one of the rarest incidents in the country. We just want to request Amit Shah to see why our daughter did not get justice till now,” her mother said before leaving Kolkata — her words carrying the weight of a year’s grief and unanswered questions.

For the hundreds who walked through the dark streets of Kolkata on Abhaya Raat, the message was clear: the fight for justice is far from over.

About the case:

The RG Kar rape case refers to the rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, on August 9, 2023.

Here’s what happened and why it drew massive public outrage:

The crime: The doctor’s body was found inside a seminar hall of the hospital late at night. She had been brutally assaulted, raped, and murdered while on duty.

Accused: A civic volunteer named Sanjoy Roy, who worked at the hospital, was arrested. In January 2024, a trial court in Sealdah convicted him of rape and murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Ongoing investigation: The CBI is still probing the case, saying there may be a “larger conspiracy”. They have examined multiple witnesses and gone through massive amounts of CCTV footage.

Public response: The incident sparked statewide protests by doctors, medical students, women’s rights groups, and civil society, with demands for better workplace safety for women in healthcare and faster justice.

Political attention: The case reached national headlines, and the victim’s family even met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in August 2024, saying justice has been delayed.

Why it stands out: It was not just the brutality of the crime, but the fact that it happened inside her workplace, a place that should have been safe, which many see as a failure of both hospital security and the state’s law and order.