Mamata Banerjee Accuses Opposition of Vandalism and Demands Justice

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the opposition CPI(M) and BJP of vandalism at RG Kar hospital. She reiterated her demand for capital punishment for the culprits behind a doctor’s rape-murder. Banerjee condemned the spread of fake news and urged the CBI to resolve the case by Sunday.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused the opposition CPI(M) and the BJP of orchestrating vandalism at RG Kar hospital and attempting to distort the truth behind the rape-murder of a woman doctor through fake news on social media.

Reiterating her demand for capital punishment for the culprits, Banerjee praised Kolkata Police for their investigation into the case, which was later transferred to the CBI by the Calcutta High Court.

She called on the Central Bureau of Investigation to resolve the case by Sunday and demanded that the culprits be hanged.

''We want the truth to come out, but some quarters are spreading lies to mislead people. Attempts are being made to hide the truth by circulating fake news on social media. We condemn these activities. We want the culprits to be punished,'' Banerjee said while addressing a rally.

Banerjee led a protest rally from Moulali to Dorina Crossing in Kolkata on Friday, demanding justice for the woman doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last week.

''The nexus between the Left and BJP should be exposed. The CPI(M) and the BJP are behind the vandalism at the hospital. They vandalised the facility to destroy evidence of the ghastly crime,'' she added.

The Chief Minister criticized the Union government for sending teams to Bengal but turning a blind eye to similar incidents in BJP-ruled states.

''They don't send teams to Uttar Pradesh even after incidents like Hathras and Unnao. They are always busy maligning Bengal. I don't want to talk about diplomatic matters, but why all the neighboring countries are complaining about India. This has never happened before, they have messed up everything,'' she stated.

Banerjee also criticized the Congress, her party's ally in the opposition bloc INDIA, for its remarks regarding the incident.

''The Congress is criticizing us but what about their track record in the states they rule. They should first look into their own backyard before making any remarks against us,'' she said.

Amid public outrage, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently said the attempt to save the accused instead of providing justice to the victim raises serious questions on the hospital and the local administration, triggering an angry reaction from the TMC, its ally as part of opposition bloc INDIA at the national level.

The woman post-graduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered in the seminar room of the state-run health facility on August 9. A civic volunteer was arrested in connection with the crime the next day.

A group of people entered the hospital and vandalized the emergency department, nursing unit, and medicine store in the early hours of Thursday.

The mob also damaged CCTV cameras at the state-run health facility and ransacked a stage where junior doctors had been demonstrating against the alleged rape and murder of the doctor and demanding security at their workplace.