Large number of women hold rally to protest killing of Kolkata doctor, Tripura teacher

A large number of women from different walks of life organized a rally on Sunday evening to protest the killing of a female Kolkata doctor and the lynching of a government school teacher in Tripura.       

The women's rally, which marched from in front of the Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan, went around most parts of the capital city demanding justice for both the Kolkata doctor and the Tripura teacher. 

The 31-year-old PG trainee female doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was raped and brutally murdered on August 9.

Tripura school teacher Abhijit Dey (40) was brutally tortured on August 8 by some people at Udaipur in Gomati district and he succumbed to his injuries on August 10.

Those participating in the well participated rally included intellectuals, students, retired teachers, doctors, theatre artists, singers, poets, writers, academicians, lawyers, engineers, senior journalists, sports personalities, professionals among others.

One of the organizers of the rally, academician Supriya Sengupta said that the murder of Kolkata doctor and Tripura teacher are the latest such heinous crimes which are a curse for the modern civilization.

Senior advocate Purusottam Roy Barman said that to prevent such barbaric crime people have to go a long way and remain in the street with a united endeavor

“Those who believe that taking a long time, such crimes would be suppressed, are living in a foolish world,” Roy Barman said.

Advocate Rumela Guha said that this is the beginning of the uninterrupted struggle to protect the security and dignity of the women.   

The women’s rally was supposed to be held on August 22 but due to devastating floods in Tripura, it was held on Sunday.

Government school teacher Dey was forcefully taken to the house of Sankar Karmakar on August 8 on an allegation of sending a “bad message” to his minor daughter over the mobile phone.

Thereafter, Dey was mercilessly beaten up by Karmakar and his associates and when his wife went to save him, she was also beaten up. Dey used to teach Karmakar’s daughter, a Class 8 student at her home.

On August 8, the girl asked the teacher to translate an English word, and he replied to the meaning of the particular word through WhatsApp chat, which was 'misinterpreted' by the girl and her parents, Dey’s wife said. They also assaulted Dey’s wife -- also a government school teacher.

The police went to the spot and rescued Dey before he was taken to Gomati district hospital for medical treatment.

Dey's wife, who later filed a complaint with the police against the accused persons, said that after the assault, the girl student's family members filed a case against her husband at the Udaipur Women’s Police Station with a "false accusation".

Subsequently, the teacher was arrested and presented in a court, where he fell ill and started vomiting blood, following which he was again taken to the district hospital, which referred Dey to the government-run GB Hospital in Agartala, where he succumbed to his injuries on August 10.

In connection with Dey’s killing, Tripura Police have so far arrested four main accused -- Jayanta Saha, Sankar Karmakar, Suman Madrazee and Biswajit Saha -- and are looking for a few other attackers.

In protest against the incident, many teachers' and students' bodies, NGOs, and political parties organised protest rallies in various parts of Tripura, especially in Udaipur almost regularly.