During a midnight protest by doctors against the tragic rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, an incident of vandalism occurred. Facing widespread criticism, the police have released 76 images of individuals allegedly involved in the vandalism and have made 30 arrests so far.
Interviews with the families of 15 of these individuals, including 14 who have been arrested and one who is allegedly absconding, reveal varied perspectives.
A Protest Turned Wrong
Many of the accused had informed their families that they were going to protest against the junior doctor’s rape and murder. Most of them live within a five-kilometre radius of the hospital and had joined the protest with their friends. The accused include:
Soumik Das, 24: A gym instructor and local TMC worker, Soumik Das resides about three kilometres from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the Nagerbazar police station area. Police released a photo and video showing him allegedly using a baton to damage parts of the emergency building. He was later arrested. His aunt, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he had been swayed by emotion and was repentant for his actions. Before his arrest, Das admitted on a Bengali news channel that he was present during the vandalism.
Jabbar Ansari, 40: Jabbar, who remains unarrested, is seen in a police-released photo giving instructions inside the emergency building as the vandalism unfolded. His sister mentioned that he has not returned home since that night, and the family has been receiving calls from the police. Jabbar is known as a respected TMC worker in the area.
Rishi Kant Mishra, 35: Mishra lives about half a kilometre from RG Kar Medical College. His brother, Lakshman Mishra, mentioned that Rishi was arrested by the police on Friday night for allegedly pelting stones. Locals confirmed that Rishi and his elder brother Srikant, a TMC worker, are frequently seen at party events.
Subhodip Kundu, 23: Subhodip, also known as Sunny, was arrested on the afternoon of August 16. A photo shows him standing on a fallen guardrail near the hospital gate. His mother, Dola Kundu, claimed that her son had been capturing the events on his phone and was not involved in the vandalism.
Soumyadip Mahish, 22: A food delivery worker living five minutes from Kundu’s residence, Soumyadip went to the protest with his friends, according to his father. The family approached a TMC councillor for help, but were refused assistance.
Sourav Dey, 20: Sourav, who works for a pesticide manufacturing company, was also arrested. His family believes in his innocence, though they did not speak much about the case.
Paul Ghosh, 27: Ghosh, a computer business owner, went to Shyambazar to protest against the rape and murder, according to his father. Ghosh’s family believes that he was wrongly arrested as a bystander during the vandalism.
Tusi Haldar, 19: One of the two women arrested, Haldar is a student and lives about a kilometre from the hospital. Photos allegedly show her inside the emergency building with a bamboo stick. Her mother insists that her daughter is innocent and was caught up in the commotion unintentionally.
Ruma Das, 27: Ruma, a resident of Baranagar and unemployed at the time, was arrested at the site of the vandalism. Her mother was unaware of how Ruma ended up at RG Kar Medical College, as she was supposed to participate in a local candlelight march.
Pradip Sen, 22: Sen, a driver, was arrested after he returned home early in the morning on August 15. His wife believes that while he was at the site, he should only be punished if there is proof of wrongdoing, noting that he was not in the photos released by the police.
Raju Bag, 28: Raju, who is unemployed, lives four kilometres from the hospital. His mother, Asha Bag, believes that Raju was mistakenly arrested, as his photo was not included in the police release.
Debashish Mondol, 27: Mondol, a delivery person for a local grocer, was arrested after police released a photo of him standing on a barricade. His father claimed that Debashish was a bystander at the protest.
Surojit Karmakar, 34: Surojit, an electrician, went to the protest with his friends. His wife maintains that he was not involved in any crime, questioning the lack of proof against him.
Md Azlan Ul Haq, 19: A college student living near the hospital, Azlan went to see what was happening during the commotion. His family only learned of his arrest the following day and fears for his future.
Tanvir Alam, 19: Alam, who lives near the hospital, went to RG Kar upon hearing about the commotion. The next day, his family saw a photo of him inside the emergency department released by the police.