RG Kar tragedy: Calcutta HC allows BJP to stage demonstration near hospital

Kolkata, Aug 20 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday allowed the West Bengal unit of the BJP to stage a demonstration near the state-run R. G. Kar Medical College & Hospital against the rape and murder of a woman doctor of the medical facility.Being denied the police permission to stage protest demonstrations at Shyambazar five-point crossing which is quite close to the said hospital, the state unit of BJP had moved the Calcutta High Court.A single-judge bench of Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj granted the BJP permission to stage the demonstration for five days, beginning Wednesday.Justice Bhardwaj has also fixed the time limit for the demonstration from 12 noon to 9 p.m.Incidentally, the state unit of BJP had planned a protest demonstration at Shyambazar five-point crossing on August 16, and accordingly, they had set up a temporary dais there for that purpose.However, on the same morning, the cops of Kolkata Police demolished that dais, after which the BJP workers started raising another dais at the same spot. However, when the police stopped them from doing so, a scuffle broke out between them.Soon after that Kolkata Police enforced Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, around R.G. Kar Hospital for seven days starting from August 18, barring all sorts of gatherings, protests, or rallies there during that period.Later, the BJP approached Justice Bhardwaj’s bench seeking permission which was granted.Welcoming the Calcutta High Court order, the state BJP leaders said that it has become a common practice in West Bengal, where the opposition parties have to approach the court for permission to conduct peaceful political programmes.The post-mortem report of the victim, who was raped and murdered on August 9, has suggested that the body had 14 injuries.The body of a female doctor was found in suspicious circumstances in the seminar hall of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. So far, only one person has been arrested in connection with the case.–IANSsrc/svn