'Attacked, shankha bangles broken': RG Kar victim's mother brings assault charge against cops during Nabanna march

Speaking to the media, the victims' parents claimed they were assaulted by cops after they entered the Kolkata Police area.

The victim's mother claimed her shankha bangles were also broken.

"The moment we crossed Sinthee More and entered the Kolkata area, police took note of our vehicle's number plate and circulated among themselves to stop us," said the victim's mother.

"I have been beaten up on the road. My shankha bangles have been broken. I have been hit on the forehead. I want to march to Nabanna demanding an answer for why my daughter was killed on duty," she added.

The march, which has been called by the students, was participated by parents of the victim, who was brutally raped and murdered on the intervening night of August 8 and 9, 2024.

West Bengal Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman Suvendu Adhikari along with his colleagues also participated in the march.

Adhikari, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul and other party workers, who were carrying the national flag, camped at Park Street after they were stopped from marching ahead.

"Mamata Banerjee's police did this. They killed Abhaya (rape-murder victim) and now they have targeted her parents," said Adhikari and added, "Eighteen of our protesters have been admitted to hospital. One person's hand was broken. Several, including myself, have been injured."

"This is Mamata versus Bengal and its women," he added.

The cops have denied the charges brought against them by the victim's parents.

Reacting to the assault claims, ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya said, "Suvendu Adhikari wanted this to happen so he could do politics. It's a march organised by BJP. I feel bad for the victim's parents for falling into the BJP's trap."

To thwart the rallies from reaching Nabanna, tall guard rails, very heavy containers have been placed by police on various roads leading to the Howrah district where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's office is located.

Various entry points to Howrah have been blocked as police tightened the security in and around Nabanna.

Mamata, who faced unprecedented protests over the RG Kar incident last year, is currently in Jhargram for her administrative duties.

The Calcutta High Court on Friday allowed the march to be held in the city, which is already rocked by protests over the last one year on a number of issues.

The court passed the order in response to a plea filed by a Howrah businessman who sought a ban on the march that he claimed would cause business losses.

All about RG Kar rape-murder case

Civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy, who was swiftly arrested by the Kolkata Police after the crime came to light, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court.

As per the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet, Sanjoy was the only man who has been accused of the crime that had sent shockwaves across the country and sparked sweeping protests in Kolkata, its neighbouring districts and some major Indian cities.

Though Sanjoy was arrested swiftly by police, junior doctors and protesters suspected more people's involvement in the crime which occurred on the intervening night of August 8 and 9, 2024.

On the basis of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to CBI fuming over the police and administration's handling of the case.

Thousands of people took to the streets almost on a regular basis in Kolkata and its neighbourhoods, taking out night vigils, candlelight marches, and forming symbolic human chains on roads demanding justice for the victim, which was allegedly raped and murdered at the seminar room where she went to rest after completing her shift.

The case also led to the unravelling of the corruption charges against erstwhile RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh levelled by the students.

Ghosh's posting to an equally important post at some other college by the government following protests against him over the rape-murder case had stirred row.

Later, Ghosh was arrested in the corruption as well as the rape-murder case. Though he was granted bail in the rape-murder case, the former principal is still in jail over the corruption.

Prior to CBI's investigation, the state administration came under the scanner over its alleged cover-up, delay in filing FIRs, demolition work near the crime scene, and assigning Ghosh to the same post at another college after he resigned from RG Kar.

Tala Police Station OC, who was also arrested, has been granted bail.

The junior doctors went on ceasework in multiple phases and continued their protests until they met with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on several occasions for a resolution.